Desmond Rider stands under a brighter light than he knew before.

The Cincinnati Senior Quarterback has grown from the AAC mid-level team to the annual FPS Powerhouse, making it an important component of any Piercades. As he prepares to face No.1 Alabama in the semifinals of the College Football Playoffs, he and Beargates will now face the biggest challenge in show history, making their first appearance for a team of five in the CFP era.

Although Rider has not always been on the big stage, he has long been a featured artist, posting historical numbers for Piercots in his four years in red and black. After the CFP, he will turn his attention to the NFL, where he has the potential to be one of the first quarterbacks to leave the group in 2022.

Here’s everything you need to know about the Crimson Title Rider.

Underestimated newcomer

Rider is considered one of the best quarterbacks in the country, but in 2017, he dropped out of high school and was not even one of the best players in his recruitment class.

According to the 247 Sports Collective Rankings, Rider is ranked 1,657th in the country, 116th in the list of three-star rookies and 10th in Kentucky.

According to the 247 Sports Collective Rankings, he is the lowest rated quarterback to reach the CFP. However, this is the 12th time that three-star football has started in the college football playoffs. There are more teams led by three-star QBs in the CFP than any other star rating (nine five stars and 11 four stars).

In the three-star QBs, Ohio State’s Cordell Jones (2014), Alabama’s Jack Cocker (2015) and Alabama’s Mac Jones (2020) won national championships.

School record holder

But one note is a single number, and Rider has proved that in his case it was far from an accurate forecast of his career in Cincinnati.

Rider wore the red shirt as his new student in 2017, but made a huge impact in 2018 as a red-shirt rookie. He completed 62.4% of passes at 2,445 yards with 20 touchdowns and five interceptions. Yards and five other marks. He was named AAC Rookie of the Year.

Rider alone continued his dominance from there. At this point in his career, he has 10,095 passing yards, 87 passing touchdowns, 28 interceptions and a 62.3 completion percentage. He ran 492 times for 2,185 yards and 28 touchdowns. Last year, he threw eight interceptions, setting personal bests across yards (3,190), touchdowns (30), completed passes (234) and attempts (355). .

He has more yards to cross in Piergate history and his 12,280 total attack yards is higher than any AAC player in history. His 87 passing touchdowns are the biggest in Bearcott history and second only to Memphis’ Brady White in AAC history. Rider’s total of 113 touchdowns is at the top of AAC’s record books.

He is currently the only active FBS player with 10,000 passing yards and 2,000 rushing yards, according to the Cincinnati Media Guide. He was the most successful of the active FBS QBs (44-5) and never lost a home game (26-0).

Ryder was selected as an AAC striker in 2020 and 2021, and was a finalist for the Johnny Unidas Golden Arm Award and a semifinalist for the Maxwell Award, Walter Camp Player of the Year and Davey O’Brien Award. 2021.

Desmond Rider NFL Draft Screening

As he continues to have a successful career with Piercates, Rider may begin to turn his attention to the positive.

He has been driving the NFL Draft for the past two seasons. Sporting News’ Winnie Iyer recently finished 15th overall with the Steelers.

Rider is currently listed as SN’s No. 28 draft prospect in the 2022 class, making him the fifth-highest-ranked quarterback.

If drawn in the first round, Ryder would become the third Piercote to be taken in the first round, joining quarterback Greg Cook (fifth overall against the Bengals in 1969) and defensive tackle Bob Bell (21st overall against the Lions in 1971). Cornerback Ahmed Gardner is listed as the 23rd overall prospect and is currently expected to be ranked 28th overall by the Buccaneers, so he may have a few companies around this year as well.

Since 2012, Cincinnati has only selected multiple players in the first two rounds of the draft in the same year – both defensive tackle Derek Wolf and running back Isaiah Pete were drafted in the second round.