Riley-Ducker brings 'mean' blocker mentality at tight end

AUBURN | Micah Riley-Ducker loves to block. No, that is an understatement. He loves to block, so much so that he gets a bit resentful when he doesn’t get the chance.

“He gets disappointed because we're kind of a complex offense, so we call the formation, we call the play, but the quarterback reads the defense and tells them which way,” Riley-Ducker’s high school coach Michael Huffman said. “He gets mad when it's going the other way. He wants them coming at him so he can thump somebody. Backside blocking, he's just cutting off and getting in the way. Play side, he's kicking butts. He gets bummed. You kind of hear him, ‘Ugh.’”

This is a good sign for an offensive lineman, but what makes Riley-Ducker's case so interesting is that he is a tight end. The recent Auburn commit tries to "kick someone's ass" on every play, per his coach, but at the same time has the qualities that you look for in a player at the tight end position.

"He's got a smooth body that can move and change directions," Huffman said. "He's got wonderful hands."

There are still certain things that the 6-foot-6 Riley-Ducker needs to work on, but Huffman is confident in Auburn tight ends coach Brad Bedell in correcting those things.

"I told Coach Bedell he's going to have to work on his routes a little bit because he watches too many guru tapes, and all these guru receiver coaches get these kids on cones and get them all short and choppy. Short and choppy doesn't get you any separation."

With programs such as Iowa, Kansas State, and Nebraska, known for using tight ends more regularly than Auburn, Riley-Ducker's commitment might come as somewhat of a surprise. However, a technology feature that we use every day helped Riley-Ducker make his decision.

"It sounds like the kids that hosted him, they got a big group chat together," Huffman explained. "And then rather than it just being over after his official visit, they continually just kept including him on everything. So he really liked the family vibe that he got there."

Vibe is a word that Huffman kept saying his star kept mentioning. He enjoyed the vibe of the campus, the coaching staff and the current players. Riley-Ducker also appreciated what he heard from Bedell.

"He [Bedell] thinks Miley can play right away in certain packages," Huffman said. "They think right away he can be like in five packages."

Riley-Ducker will get an early start as he plans on graduating early from Bellevue West High School, signing in December and enrolling in January. That extra time is going to allow him to put even more muscle on a 235-pound body.

"I can't wait to see what the kid looks like when he gets into the strength program," Huffman said. "We have a great strength program, but he's living off Cheetos, no matter how much fun I make of him. What's he going to look like after 11 months with Auburn's nutrition and Auburn's strength program? I guarantee he'll lose about 5 percent body fat."

There are a lot of moments that stand out about Riley-Ducker on the football field, yet it is one tiny thing that he did that showed Huffman what sort of person he is off of it.

"This is going to sound really weird, but my favorite story about Micah is he FaceTimed my wife on Mother's Day to wish her a happy Mother's Day."

His coach also knows that if football doesn't work out, he could easily transition into another career.

"He's beautiful," Huffman said. "And he has an infectious, huge smile. I joke with him all the time that if football doesn't work out, he's going to be a male model."

In the meantime, Riley-Ducker will continue putting his hand on the ground and hoping that the quarterback calls the blocking formation his way.

"He's freaking mean, and that's why I think he's a good fit for the SEC," Huffman said.