Cincinnati Bearcats QB Desmond Ridder had new way to prepare for games this year
Desmond Ridder, one of three quarterbacks with at least 44 career victories in FBS college football history, had a different perspective on the weekly offensive game plans this year.
Ridder took an internship with the coaching staff this fall after earning his degree in 2020.
“I think it makes it a lot easier on myself to kind of figure out what they’re looking at, what they see and how to really break down film because last year I wasn’t doing anything like that,” Ridder said. “I had no clue, really, how they game planned and how they came up with plays and what they did.”
It’s been an enjoyable experience, Ridder said, and it’s seemingly only helped him on the field. He’s completed 65.9% of his passes for 3,190 yards and 30 touchdowns this year while throwing eight interceptions.
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“A lot of people have certain goals and dreams they want to achieve in life,” he said. “After the NFL, I want to possibly be a coach. The best way to do that, why not, is to intern with our coaching staff. I was able to do that this whole semester. Not only did it prepare me for coaching later in my life, but it also prepared me for the season as well.”
The Cincinnati Bearcats haven’t dived completely into installing their game plan for top-ranked Alabama. Head coach Luke Fickell says it would become monotonous if they were doing the same thing for nine consecutive practices, so this past week featured the typical work with backups and underclassmen before bowl games.
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“There’s a good balance to where we’re trying to give these guys an opportunity to play and have a little bit of fun all while preparing for the ultimate goal,” Fickell said.
Ridder, who finished eighth in the Heisman Trophy voting, has watched cut-ups of Alabama’s defense for a sense of their formations in certain situations, but there’s still a lot of time to prep before the College Football Playoff semifinal kicks off in Dallas on Dec. 31.
“If you want to talk about a mindset and things are a mindset,” Ridder said, “I think that us playing Georgia and the way we played Georgia last year even though we didn’t come out with a victory, it really helped settle people’s minds of we can go out there and play with whoever it is because at the end of the day football is football.”
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Alabama’s defense is highlighted by linebacker Will Anderson, who finished fifth in the Heisman voting. Anderson ranks second on the team with 92 tackles, which includes a staggering 15½ sacks. Ridder called him a “go-hard player.”
The Tide cemented its spot in the Playoff by dominating Georgia’s high-powered offense in the SEC Championship Game. The Tide is 19th in the country in scoring defense (20.2 points per game), eighth in third down defense (31.9% conversion rate) and fourth in rushing defense (82.8 yards per game).
“They obviously get after the quarterback,” Ridder said. “They’ve got a big D-line. Then they’re able to back it up on the back end as well. They like to do a lot of bracket where they double some receivers, so they really take away a lot of throws.”
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Ridder has won 44 games as Cincinnati’s starting quarterback, which trails only Boise State’s Kellen Moore (50 wins, 2008-11) and Texas’ Colt McCoy (45 wins, 2006-09).
Alabama will be his biggest challenge yet, but there’s no question with his new coaching background he will be prepared.
This article originally appeared on Cincinnati Enquirer: College Playoff: Cincinnati's Desmond Ridder prepares for Alabama
