Coveted Tight End Riley-Ducker Discusses Tennessee Offer, Long-Standing Relationship With Alex Golesh

Over a year ago, in December of 2019, while serving as tight ends coach at Iowa State, Alex Golesh sent out an offer to Bellevue West (Neb.) tight end Micah Riley-Ducker. Earlier today, Golesh extended another offer to Riley-Ducker to play for him at Tennessee. The coveted 2022 tight end prospect discussed the offer and more below with VR2 on SI.

The previous connection between the two made the conversation easy and reiterated a long-time message from Golesh. Riley-Ducker said, "Coach Golesh offered me my first power five scholarship last year around this time, so we had a connection! He said that he fell in love with my game last year when he was at Iowa State and was waiting for a chance to recruit me again."

Golesh's track record of developing elite tight ends is something that impresses the mid-west prospect, who holds over 20 Division 1 offers. He said, "It's big. I know he's got knowledge of the game, and it's shown wherever he's been. He's got guys that are going to the league, which is the goal at the end of the day."

The coveted pass-catcher has serious interest from multiple schools, including "Auburn, Iowa, Iowa State, Wisconsin, Georgia Tech, and Florida State," but he will be doing his research on Tennessee and Josh Heupel's offense moving forward.

"I don't know much about the offense yet, but me and my family will for sure be looking into it over this recruiting process picks up with Tennessee," Riley-Ducker added.

Riley-Ducker projects as an ideal fit for Tennessee's tight end room under Josh Heupel, as he blocks C-area extremely well while serving as a vertical threat in the seam.

The 6-6, 235 pounds prospect plans to make a July commitment decision. He added on what it will come down to, "Wherever I go, the goal is to win! I've done it since I was a little kid. You play the game to compete with the best of the best, and the sec and Tennessee provides that."

As it currently stands, Riley-Ducker holds three SEC offers, and he would not be opposed to playing in the Southeast and proving he belongs. He said, "Not many kids from Nebraska get to play in the sec with kids from the south. Growing up in the Midwest, you see a lot more kids down south get opportunities or recognition for their work. It would be cool to have an opportunity to show everyone the level of talent there is in the Midwest - especially here in Nebraska."

Below is a look at Riley-Ducker's 2020 season highlights:

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