Riley ready for his opportunity to shine

[aubiefifty 18,248]

‘Beefy’ Cam Riley ready for his opportunity to shine at linebacker for Auburn

Published: Aug. 13, 2022, 3:00 p.m.

6-8 minutes

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Cam Riley barely recognizes himself in the photos from his freshman year.

That feels like ages ago to Riley, who has undergone some serious physical changes since he first stepped foot on Auburn’s campus in 2020. Back then, the former four-star linebacker was 6-foot-4 and listed at 209 pounds; he always had a larger frame for his position, but he had yet to fill out.

Fast forward to this fall: Riley is now listed at 6-foot-5 and 230 pounds. He has added more than 20 pounds over the last two years, making him a super-sized linebacker unlike any Auburn has fielded in recent years, when the position has enjoyed a renaissance of sorts.

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“I feel more beefy,” Riley said, “and I’m able to sock O-linemen as hard as I can. I just feel good. I feel different, too. I feel bigger as well.”

Riley hopes to use his newfound size and considerable length to his advantage this year, as he appears set to take over a starting role at linebacker alongside senior Owen Pappoe. After two years of waiting for his opportunity — playing behind the likes of Pappoe, Zakoby McClain, Chandler Wooten and K.J. Britt — Riley’s time has finally arrived.

Riley has played 22 games over his first two seasons, playing a supporting role at linebacker and on special teams while totaling 23 tackles. He earned a start as a freshman against South Carolina in 2020, and he capped his sophomore campaign with a career-high five tackles in the Birmingham Bowl against Houston.

“I feel like it helped me out in the long run, being behind Zakoby,” Riley said. “He’s a legend here. He kind of helped me out in my time here; I learned a couple things from him. Just his style of playing the game, it’s different. I feel like me taking that time — those two years where I didn’t play as much as I wanted to — it helped me to become more of a student of the game. I learned a couple things from him that helped me out where now, it’s my time.”

Riley knew there would be an opportunity for a larger role at linebacker this season following the departures of McClain and Wooten, the Tigers’ two leading tacklers last season. He and fellow junior Wesley Steiner had a chance to step up further this spring, when Pappoe was sidelined while recovering from surgery to address the ankle injury that cost him much of last season. Riley and Steiner received the bulk of the first-team reps at linebacker in the spring, and Riley seized the opportunity presented to him.

On A-Day, the Evergreen native took home defensive MVP honors while finishing with five total tackles and a sack.

“He’s really taken the steps that we really wanted him to, to be a guy that understands he’s going to be out there for us every game and to know that he belongs in this league and that he should go and perform at a high level and I’m proud of the steps that he’s taken,” linebackers coach Christian Robinson said.

Robinson, who arrived at Auburn in January, wasn’t familiar with Riley when he took over the linebacker room in the offseason. But after first encountering the towering linebacker and getting a chance to sit down with him one-on-one before the spring, Robinson had a message — and mission statement of sorts: “You have the frame to be a great player, and now we’ve just got to give you the confidence and the tools.”

That has been the goal since the spring, and it appears to be in reach heading into the season opener Sept. 3 against Mercer. Riley is listed 11 pounds heavier than he was as a sophomore, with Robinson crediting the work strength coach Jeff Pitman and assistant strength coach Anthony Lazard did in helping reshape Riley’s body in the offseason months.

Now at 6-foot-5 and 230 pounds, Riley has a case as one of the most physically imposing linebackers to come through Auburn. His size is closer to that of an edge defender, and it’s drastically different than some of the undersized linebackers that have led the resurgence of the position in recent seasons. Physically, he’s cut from a different cloth than what Auburn is used to in the middle of its defense — and that’s something the Tigers hope can work in their favor.

“If you’re going to have that length, you’ve got to have the girth to be able to hold,” Robinson said. “Especially being taller, you’ve got to bend more.”

That’s something Riley has worked on this offseason, and Robinson has been pleased with the results. With more reps, and more opportunity to get comfortable at his increased size, Riley’s confidence has increased. He’s playing faster and more freely at the position, and he said he knows the playbook like the back of his hand at this point; he knows that’s a must if he hopes to lock down that starting role alongside Pappoe.

There’s still room to improve, though, and Riley knows that — but Robinson also wants him to comprehend he doesn’t have to be perfect every play; not everything will be solved with physicality. There’s leeway there, Robinson said. Riley just needs to understand his role within the defensive system, and the rest will come.

“I think it’s just confidence to understand what his role is, because if you know your role it’s just like anything, if you’re able to make your calls for what you need to, you can make the people around you better,” Robinson said. “That’s one of the first things I said when I sat down with the group, I said, ‘This group will be judged on how you affect the rest of the defense and the team.’ Quarterbacks of the defense — if no one knows we’re out there by our actions and our communication, we’re not making this football team better, and to see him make those strides, still got a long way to go, but all I ask is to get better each day and he’s really done that.

“We have up and down days, that’s camp, but I’m excited about what he’s done.”

Tom Green is an Auburn beat reporter for Alabama Media Group. Follow him on Twitter @Tomas_Verde.