Sam Riddy remembers the moment he realized playing major college football might be possible.
Riddy was just a sophomore at North Charleston (SC) High School appearing in his sixth varsity game against Oceanside Collegiate Academy. A tight end-defensive end, Riddy was just starting to emerge as a playmaker for the Cougars.
But late in the game against Oceanside, Riddy leaped in the air and came down with a one-handed catch that brought the crowd to its feet.
“The crowd went wild,” Riddy said. “After the game people were asking me about what school I was going to. That’s really the moment.”
Motivated by that spectacular play and its aftermath, Riddy worked his way into an all-region performer with more than a half-dozen college scholarship offers to his credit prior to his senior season in 2023. But after an impressive showing at East Carolina’s prospect camp in June, he received the offer he’d eventually accept.
After making an official recruiting visit to Greenville on July 27, the 6-foot-5, 240-pounder made a verbal commitment to ECU on August 8. Riddy chose ECU over offers from Benedict, Bryant, Charleston Southern, Colgate, Navy, Newberry, N.C. Central and The Citadel.
Despite a junior season in which he made 49 tackles and earned South Carolina High School League Region VIII AAA honors, Riddy said he wasn’t on ECU’s recruiting radar until attending summer camp in Greenville.
“They hadn’t recruited me before camp,” Riddy said. “So, I went up there very focused. I was the first one to step up to the plate for every drill. And they noticed that. They offered me at their camp. It was a blessing.”
Riddy entered the North Charleston football program as a ninth grader after a brief sabbatical from the sport. He was a starter for the middle school squad as a seventh grader before suffering a broken arm that kept him off the field through his eighth-grade year.
But after arriving at North Charleston, he renewed his commitment to the gridiron.
“As soon as I got to the high school I started back and got more focused on the weight room and off-season training,” he said. “I would lift weights with the seniors and people who were older than me, and that helped me.”
Riddy earned all-state honorable mention honors for his efforts as a sophomore.
A major change occurred for North Charleston football and Riddy last November when head coach Devon Smalls resigned. Smalls was replaced by Curtis Walker, who had served previously as head coach at Catawba College and defensive coordinator at Coastal Carolina.
One of the first athletes Walker interacted with after being hired at North Charleston was Riddy.
“There are three things we feel are most important to having success on the field: work ethic, accountability and discipline,” Walker said. “The first thing I noticed about Sam was his work ethic. In our first time on the field, he was the first in line. He was leading and doing things on a level that made me understand that his work ethic and everything he does is going to be first and foremost.”
Riddy has also impressed Walker in game situations during the early stages of North Charleston’s 2023 season. Riddy has made 12 tackles, including five tackles for loss in the Cougars’ 1-1 start.
But it was a play Riddy made during a preseason jamboree that Walker feels showed Riddy at his best.
“He caught a pass on the 15-yard line and he scored after he broke six or seven tackles,” Walker said. “That unwavering determination to score or to achieve is what I saw from him on that play. He could have easily been stopped at the 15, when he was first hit. But that’s just who he is.”
Riddy, who plans to graduate from North Charleston in December so he can enroll at ECU in January, has been recruited to play edge or outside linebacker for the Pirates.
Walker, meanwhile, is awaiting another announcement from a player close to his heart on Sept. 10. His youngest son, Curtis “Deuce” Walker, is a heavily recruited cornerback at Salisbury High in North Carolina. The younger Walker is scheduled to announce his college choice on that date with Duke, Coastal Carolina, Kentucky, Old Dominion and Virginia Tech among his options.
Walker’s oldest son, Jalon, is a sophomore linebacker who is expected to start this season for the defending national champion Georgia Bulldogs.
Thanks, Sammy
Another good report, keep them coming.