Desirrio Riles

Position:
Tight End
Height:
6-3
Weight:
247
Class:
Freshman
Hometown:
Jacksonville, Fla.
High School:
University Christian
Major:
Communication

Junior in the classroom with two years of eligibility remaining … Earned two varsity letters (2023-34) … Played in 24 career games making five starts … Caught 17 passes for 113 yards (6.6 ypc) … Scored two touchdowns – both in 2024 … Registered at least one reception in 11 of 24 games (multiple four times) … Officially signed with East Carolina in March of 2023.

2024: Played in all 13 games earning second varsity letter … Logged 340 total snaps (256 offense, 84 special teams) … Caught eight passes for 83 yards (10.4 ypc) … Scored a pair of touchdowns, both coming in the season opener against Norfolk State (3 yards, 32 yards) … Hauled in at least one pass in six of 13 contests (multiple once) … Two of eight receptions went for 20 or more yards (NSU 32 TD, NSU 22) … One of two Pirates (other: Winston Wright Jr.) to have two receiving touchdown receptions in one game … Three of eight receptions went for 10 or more yards (32/NSU, 22/NSU, 12/NC State) … Targeted 12 times making eight catches … Credited with nine yards after the catch … Established career-highs in receiving yards (57/Norfolk State), TD receptions in game (2/Norfolk State) and longest reception (32/Norfolk State) … Credited with one tackle at Tulsa.

2023: Played in 11 games making five starts during initial year with the program … Earned first varsity letter after logging 229 total plays (215 offense, 14 special teams) … Made first collegiate start at Rice … Caught nine passes for 30 yards (3.3 ypc) … First career grab came against Gardner-Webb for one yard … Twenty-eight of 30 reception yards came after the catch … Career-long reception of 14 yards was against Tulane … Hauled in a career-best four catches at Florida Atlantic.

High School: Two-sport athlete (football, basketball) … Played five years for head coach David Penland III helping the Fightin’ Christians to a 37-12 overall record … Played in 50 career games … Completed 189 of 328 passes (57.6 percent) for 2,803 yards … Threw 27 touchdowns with 12 interceptions … Ran for 1,261 career yards on 304 carries (4.2 ypr) … Scored 24 touchdowns and ran for 100-plus yards in a contest four times … Hauled down 17 passes for 280 yards and four scores … Tallied 106 total stops on defense (74 solo) … Credited with 26.0 TFLs with 15.0 sacks … Picked off two passes for 59 yards … Closed out prep career playing in 13 games and leading the Christians to the state semifinal game … Completed a pair of passes for 54 yards … Rushed 13 times for 48 yards and caught 17 passes for 280 yards (16.5 ypc) with four scores … Defensively, tallied 68 stops (47 solo) with 24.0 tackles for loss … Credited with 14.0 sacks for 75 yards and four quarterback hurries … Picked off a pair of passes for 59 yards … As a junior appeared in 11 games completing 56 of 95 passes (58.9 percent) for 635 yards with six touchdowns … Threw a pair of touchdown passes in a 41-26 win over Newberry … Passed for a season-high 121 yards (10 of 14) with a sore against Foundation Academy … Ran for 605 yards on 120 carries (5.0 ypr) with nine scores … Posted a pair of 100-plus yard rushing games (100 vs Bradford, 122 vs. Episcopal School of Jacksonville) … Ran for at least one score in five contests (multiple three times) with a season-best three against Episcopal School of Jacksonville … Defensively tallied 32 stops (23 solo) with two TFLs and one sack … Earned Florida Times-Union All First-Coast Honorable Mention honors as a sophomore … Played in 12 contests where he completed 60 of 114 passes (52.6 percent) for 1,041 yards with 13 touchdowns to five interceptions … Rushed 95 times for 328 yards (3.5 ypr) with seven touchdowns … Produced lone 100-plus rushing game of the season against St. John Paul II (102) where he reached the endzone twice … Also had a multi-TD game against Bradford in a 33-22 victory … As a freshman, completed 60.3 percent of his passes (70 of 116) for 1,063 yards … Threw eight touchdown passes to just four interceptions in 13 games … Threw for a career-high 202 yards in a 27-8 win over Clay where he completed nine of 12 passes (75.0 percent) with a score … Added 276 rushing yards on 75 carries (3.7 ypr) with eight scored and a 100-plus yard rushing performance … Tallied 111 yards against Bishop Kenny where he averaged 7.9 yards per carry on 14 rushes … All eight touchdown runs came over the final five games of the season including three against Crescent City and two versus Maclay … Appeared in one game during eighth grade year on varsity where he completed a pass for 10 yards and rushed once for four yards … On the hardwood, has played in 74 career games (as of Jan. 30, 2023) where he is averaging 9.7 points, 5.2 rebounds and 2.8 assists per game … Complete career stats … Three-star prospect according to 247Sports Composite, ESPN and On3 … Chose East Carolina over Boston College, Bowling Green, Coastal Carolina, FIU, Indiana, Louisville, Marshall, Memphis, Michigan and South Florida.

Personal: Majoring in communication … Named to ECU Director of Athletics Honor Roll in fall 2024 ... Named to American Conference All-Academic Team (2024).