He's a 4-star OLB by ESPN, and was named both the 2011 and 2012 Louisiana 2A Defensive Player of the Year as a junior and senior. Other players that have been named Louisiana 2A Player of the Year two different years include: Joe McKnight - 2005, 2006 Peyton Manning - 1992, 1993 Dalton Hilliard - 1979, 1980 Riley led John Curtis in tackles each of the past three seasons during which time the Patriots have gone 40-2, won the 2012 National Championship (the school's 1st national championship) and back-to-back Louisiana Class 2A State Championships in 2011 and 2012 (finishing 14-0 both years) after a state runner-up finish in 2010 (when they finished 12-2) Riley was name MVP of the 2012 State Championship Game. His senior season, Riley made 124 tackles (including 93 individual stops and 19 tackles for loss), leading a defense that USA TODAY’s Jim Halley said was the hallmark of why the Patriots procured the #1 ranking in the USA TODAY High School Football Super 25 “You can’t beat a team if you can’t score on it,” Halley said. “That’s the most impressive thing about them." The Curtis defense recorded seven shutouts and only allowed an average of 4.3 points per game. Riley: "With us getting shutouts I didn’t get to play as much as I wanted to, but that was OK. We played a lot of younger guys, and we won. That’s how I got my experience when I was young.’’ USA TODAY was among five services to rank Curtis #1 in the nation at the conclusion of the 2012 season. Rivals, Scout, MaxPreps, and PrepNation also crowned the Patriots national champions. Scout.com: "'It's an honor to play for Curtis,' wrote Duke Riley, the highest-profile (and highest-ranked) 2013 prospect on the team." Head coach and school headmaster J.T. Curtis (who is 520-54-6 in 44 years at Curtis), said this about Riley: “I don’t know if you can ask a player to do more for a team than Duke did for us in terms of commitment, leadership, his work ethic in practice and his gamesmanship,’’ Curtis Jr. said. “He brought all of those things together. He called defenses for us; he made adjustments for us on the field. That is a tribute to his study and knowledge of what we’re trying to do defensively. Not everybody has that ability... “Obviously, all of those things are important to him as a football player, but he’s also just as fine of a young man. He’s always been a good student. He’s always been respectful of other people. He’s been a pleasure to work with.’’
Tweets from Riley: -LSU offered a full scholarship!!!! -Just Committed to LSU on a Full Scholarship!!!!! Ill be their in June!!!! -I'm ready to sign them papers!!! -Me and my bro @OBJ_3 gone do big things when I get up there!!!! Jeryl Brazil tweeted these two tweets: -S/O to @1Goal1Dream [Duke Riley]! Flow my bro he just committed to the tigers today!!!!!!!!!! On a full scholarship! Follow my bro man!! -Son like I'm really happy @1Goal1Dream [Duke Riley] coming to LSU Bruh y'all just don't know man!!!!!!! Rickey Jefferson tweeted this: -S/O to my new teammate DUKE RILEY TIGERNATION SHOW HIM SOME LOVE @1Goal1Dream !!!!!
From a January 24, 2013 interview with Louisiana Football Magazine LAFM: Current height and weight? 6’2” and 212 (ESPN has him at 6-1, 205, Scout and Rivals have him at 6-1, 215, 247 has him at 6-2, 210) LAFM: 40-yard dash time? 4.48 (Mike Coppage, Scout.com recruiting analyst for the South/Midlands Regions, tweeted this last night: "New LSU LB commit Duke Riley ran a 4.49 in the 40-yard dash at LSU in July. I was present at the camp.") LAFM: Did you go to any camps this summer? Which ones and how were they? I went to Ole Miss, TCU, Miss St., LSU and Tulane. (everyone of them gave him a scholarship offer) LAFM: What positions are you being recruited for? Which is your favorite position? Outside linebacker (on his twitter, he also confirmed he was being recruited at OLB by LSU) LAFM: Current GPA and ACT score? 18 ACT and 3.86 GPA LAFM: How old were you when you started playing? I was 5 years old when I started playing. ... All I ever wanted to do was play football because I love the game
WELCOME DUKE!!! I am glad we offered a full ride this kid WANTS to be a TIGER and I look forward to seeing him in P&G
He sounds like a great kid and is so excited to be a Tiger. This is the kind of football player we want. Welcome Duke!
Gary Patterson came in from DFW to visit his home the night before last, then Chavis visited him at his home last night: From a Times Picayune article two days ago: "I have an in-home visit with TCU and head coach Gary Patterson tonight," Riley said. "After that, I have LSU coming in on Wednesday" "Once I meet with everyone, I will lay on it for a little while. I have a track meet this weekend at McNeese so after that, I will probably sit with my parents Sunday, make my decision and make it known Monday or Tuesday." from a Times Picayune article published late last night: After a visit with TCU Coach Gary Patterson on Tuesday night, Riley committed to the Horned Frogs. That commitment took place because LSU had not given Riley the offer he was seeking. However, that all changed Wednesday "I committed right (to LSU) after I heard that I had a full-scholarship," an exhausted and excited Riley said. "That ended it all for me." Per an article from TigerSportsDigest last night: During an in-home visit this evening from Frank Wilson and John Chavis , Riley pulled the trigger on committing to LSU ... According to a source, Riley phoned the news into Les Miles while the Tiger assistants were at his house.
Comments about Riley from TCU fans on killerfrogs.com over the last couple days: Daje Johnson did the same thing last year. Used his TCU commitment to leverage an offer from UT. Can't blame any kid for wanting to play for the home state university that he probably grew up watching and dreaming of playing for. I'll be thrilled if he becomes a Frog, but I can't get mad if he goes to LSU. If we lose out on this kid to LSU, I don't blame him.....but sure as hell want a victory over LSU more than losing a recruit to them... Duke is a great player and will develop to become a beast, hope TCU lands him. I'm sure it's every Louisiana kids dream though to play for LSU. Can't go wrong either way as both defenses and schools are fantastic. What a great opportunity these athletes get. TCU has pursued this athlete for a long time, hope he sees the effort and vision these TCU coaches have seen in him since day 1. I really like Riley Riley...is probably more ready to play in college than any of our LB commits. All 3 of our LB's need to fill out for at least a year. Sammy Douglas will need at least two years if he's really 6'3", 190 lbs. He'll need at least 20 pounds. Yep. I really hope he ends up in Fort Worth... hope that's still a possibility. I really want to land Riley but will not my breath. Happy for him, getting something that many covet. ... Seems like a great kid, would love to have him at TCU. I agree, wish he was coming to Fort Worth, but if he rather go to LSU, then good luck to him. The staff obviously wanted the kid, and I certainly wanted to see him in Fort Worth. ... he would've been a good one Seems a LOT of schools wait to see which athletes TCU goes after. Really liked all I read/saw about this kid over the last few weeks. Was really hoping that we'd get him to FW. Welp, duke commits to LSU. It was fun following this whole deal for the past year only to see it fall apart one week before signing day. It just makes beating LSU in August all the sweeter! Good Luck Duke. Guess LSU > TCU. *Sigh* In the state of Louisiana to most LA HS players, yeah. In their minds. Growing up in Louisiana, that is just how it goes. Too bad. I wish him luck at LSU - beginning on Sept. 1, of course. On Aug. 31, I hope he watches helplessly from the sidelines as the Tigers get obliterated.
Here's more quotes about him from his coach in a January 24, 2013 article from the The Oxford Eagle (the only daily newspaper in Oxford, MS) “Duke brings a lot of good qualities to the table and I think besides being a tremendous athlete, he has great leadership skills and he has great intensity in the way he plays. He also brings great character to the team and I think that he is the caliber person that Coach (Hugh) Freeze is looking for,” said Riley’s coach, J.T. Curtis. ... "He plays with great intensity. You hate to say he’s a perfect player ... but his level of preparation to go to the field and perform and then once he gets on that field to be able to play at a high level with intensity, he’s as good as anybody I’ve had,” Curtis said. “That’s a pretty strong statement but he is a guy that can run to the football and can close the distance of not allowing big plays to happen when a plays break. Again, I think what will happen when he gets to college, is he will put on that natural weight and probably end up being a 225-, 227-pound linebacker that can just run and cover in the open field and have the ability to make big plays because of the speed he possess.” ... Riley is currently gearing up for the track season where he competes in the hurdles and other field events such as the discus. “Duke is an excellent hurdler. He won the state last year in the discus and competed in the hurdles. He’s really committed to track and field and he does a great job … he even runs in one of our relays. He really has great speed and a great work ethic to excel in track and field also,” said Curtis, who added he may even try to help the track team in college. “I think that will depend ... I don’t know if he’ll really have the time to put in to do what they have to do at that level but certainly he has the skill to be able to do that. Duke’s main focus is football" ... "I think when a young man gets to be in the spring of his junior year, the tempo of recruiting will pick up and that’s exactly what happened with Duke,” Curtis said. “He is a guy that grew a little bit late in terms of his height" ... Curtis added that Ole Miss wide receiver coach Grant Heard has done a great job with Riley. “They’ve just done a great job with him. ... Coach Heard has done a great job.... I think that he’s done the things he’s needed to do to keep Duke interested in Ole Miss at this point. We try to keep recruiting to a low level until we get (season) finished and of course we didn’t get finished until the second weekend of December.” In-homes Riley was visited by LSU coach Les Miles Wednesday night for an in-home, a day after Freeze and Heard visited him at his school. ... A decision from Riley is expected in the near future, maybe even as early as the weekend.
