From AC Flora to the pros: Quincy Riley selected in NFL Draft
Quincy Riley was an unknown commodity coming out of high school. Now he’s an NFL Draft pick.
The New Orleans Saints picked the Columbia, South Carolina product and Louisville defensive back Saturday in the fourth round of the 2025 NFL Draft. The Saints hosted Riley on a visit earlier this month.
ESPN’s Mel Kiper ranked Riley as the 11th-best cornerback back in the draft, and NFL Network’s Daniel Jeremiah had as the 111th overall prospect.
ESPN pundit Louis Riddick had Riley on his top five sleepers outside of Round 1 and had him as the No. 2 player available entering the final day of the draft.
“He has the physical tools to play anywhere — outside on the perimeter or inside in the slot, and in man, zone, press or off-coverage. You name it, he can do it,” Riddick wrote. “The exclamation point on his evaluation is that he is tough and will set the edge against the run in Cover 2, which we know is uncommon for players at his position.”
On ESPN’s draft boradcast Saturday, Riddick added Riley is as “tough as they come and smooth as silk.”
At the NFL Combine, Riley talked about his drive, determination and that family is very important to him. He talked about his grandmother who died while he was at the Senior Bowl and his mother who has been battling cancer.
“Teams see my speed, ball skills, but it really comes from inside. I’m on a mission and teams are going to know I am on a mission,” Riley said at the NFL Combine.
Riley said during his press conference with reporters Saturday that he is comfortable playing inside or outside corner position.
“When you play on the inside, the majority of the time you’re affecting the play somehow,” he said. “Even if you’re not making the tackle or making a pass breakup, what you do as the inside corner, it’s basically like a linebacker, safety and corner in one position, so you’ve got an effect on the whole play 90 percent of the time. I can really feel like I’m in the game at that position.”
Riley was a three-sport standout at A.C. Flora High School and was the 100- and 200-meter champion during his senior season at the school.
Riley is the first former Flora player selected in the NFL Draft. Punter Joseph Charlton was in the league for four seasons (2020-23) but signed as a free agent.
Despite his production at Flora, he didn’t get a lot of college interest, with his biggest offers coming from Middle Tennessee, Coastal Carolina, Arkansas State, Georgia State and Georgia Southern.
The 5-foot-11, 194-pound Riley originally went to MTSU and played three seasons before landing at Louisville. In three years at Louisville, he had 109 tackles, 21 passes defensed and eight interceptions.
Riley was a second-team all-Atlantic Coast Conference selection this year, selected for the Senior Bowl and NFL Combine. At the Combine, he ran a 4.47.
This story was originally published April 26, 2025 at 1:35 PM.
