Cody Riggs Interested in Transfer to Notre Dame?

Four years ago Florida beat out Notre Dame and Florida State for the signature of Cody Riggs on Signing Day.  Four years later, with Riggs set to graduate from Florida on time and transfer for his final year of eligibility, Notre Dame could end up with the former Saint Thomas Aquinas prep star after all.

After starting 26 games over the last four seasons, Riggs is looking to transfer for his final season primarily for academic purposes according to an interview with Sports Illustrated.

Riggs said that he plans to attend graduate business school and pursue either an MBA or a master’s in science in business. He’s currently finishing his degree in Family Youth and Community Sciences, studying for the GMATs and doing an internship at a Boys & Girls Club in Gainesville.

According to tweets on Friday from both Irish Sports Daily and Irish Illustrated, it appears as though Riggs has some interest in Notre Dame as a possible destination for him to pursue those academic endeavors.

#Florida defensive back Cody Riggs is “interested” in exploring #NotreDame as a fifth year option ($): http://t.co/3Z6yyraWfY

— Irish Illustrated (@NDatRivals) February 7, 2014

This week’s Intel has a strong focus on 2015 recruiting, but leads off with an update on #NotreDame & Florida DB transfer Cody Riggs.

— Irish Sports Daily (@ISDUpdate) February 7, 2014

Both tweets link to premium articles on the respective sites, but the headlines give it away that there is interest from Riggs on transferring to Notre Dame for the 2014 season.  Per NCAA rules, Riggs would be eligible to play immediately as a player who graduated in four years and is transferring to pursue graduate studies.

Adding Riggs to the roster for the 2014 season would help bolster a secondary that took some lumps in 2013 and will be replacing two year starter Bennett Jackson.   Riggs played the 2013 season at safety for Florida, but previously played corner for the Gators.  Should he transfer to Notre Dame, a move back to corner would seem to be in the cards for the 5’9″ versatile defender.

As a safety in 2013, Riggs collected 51 tackles with 6.5 resulting in lost yardage.  He also had 1.5 sacks and 3 pass breakups as he returned to action after missing almost all of 2012 with a broken foot.   In 2011 Riggs played in 13 games while starting 10 at corner for the Gators.  As a freshman in 2010, Riggs started 3 games while playing in all 13 as well.

With one corner back spot up for grabs in the Irish secondary heading into the 2014 season, landing a 5th year senior transfer with starting experience at corner in the SEC would be a huge boost to the Notre Dame defense.   Sophomores Cole Luke, Devin Butler, and Rishad Kinlaw all return for Notre Dame along with seniors Jalen Brown and Josh Atkinson – although the race for the open starting spot figured to be a battle between Luke and Butler  Notre Dame also just signed 4-star cornerback Nick Watkins out of Texas earlier this week who figures to be in the mix

At the very least, Riggs would likely be the nickel back for the Irish should he decide to transfer and would give Luke and Butler a serious run for their money.  It will be interesting to see how this plays out for Notre Dame since they have not had a 5th year transfer into the program since this new rule has been in place.  Notre Dame has, however, been on the other side many times over the last few years.

Brian Kelly was able to landed his first recruit from Saint Thomas Aquinas in Fort Lauderdale this week when Corey Holmes faxed in his LOI.  Could he possibly add another player from the powerhouse prep program from the Sunshine State?