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The Indiana Daily Student

sports football

Cornerback makes good on plan to start as a freshman

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A’Shon Riggins said in January he planned to come to IU and start as a freshman.

The cornerback had just met with new defensive coordinator Tom Allen during his fifth visit to Bloomington, and although Allen’s replacement of Brian Knorr shocked him, he felt comfortable enough with the Hoosier program to confirm his commitment.

In order to start, however, he’d need to show Allen he deserved the chance to play.

“We’ll play freshmen,” Allen said. “If they prove to us that they have earned the right to play, then we’re going to play them.”

By IU’s fifth game against No. 2 Ohio State, Riggins had done his part. The freshman started at boundary corner after seeing action as a substitute in IU’s first four games, and did not disappoint.

The Hamilton High School product recorded his first career interception, which he nearly returned for a touchdown, and added three tackles to earn IU’s defensive MVP of the week award.

“Being from Ohio, it was a big honor to start this first game,” Riggins said. “Especially because I was coming home and got to show out in front of my team, in front of my hometown.”

Allen was impressed with how Riggins handled heading back to his home state for his first career start. He said that kind of homecoming usually goes one of two ways, either the kid rises up and uses the excitement to gain an edge and play well, or he struggles.

“For him to rise up against the talent they had at receiver is impressive,” Allen said. “And just the toughness, he made tackles. He didn’t just cover.”

Riggins’ high school coach, Chad Murphy, watched his former player pick off J.T. Barrett on ESPN and run the ball back to the Ohio State 13-yard line. A week earlier, in fact, Murphy and his wife came to Bloomington to watch Riggins and the Hoosiers knock off then-No. 17 Michigan State.

“He’s exactly what you want,” Murphy said. “You don’t want a kid who’s boastful or brags or those kinds of things. He’s just a very humble kid that literally, when he puts his mind to something, the sky’s the limit.”

Allen said that from day one Riggins always responded the right way when coaches got on him about what was expected during practice. He showed no outward frustration, looked coaches right in the eye and responded, 
“Yes, sir.”

Junior linebacker Marcus Oliver, who attended the same high school as Riggins, has always seen that maturity.

“When I was talking to my high school coach about him, way back, two years ago, he said he was a lot like me,” Oliver said. “He focuses on what he wants, and that’s what he works for.”

Riggins’ strong performance against the Buckeyes wasn’t a fluke either. Oliver, who feels like a big brother to Riggins, said the freshman has always been confident, dating back to high school when the hype surrounding Riggins was that he could play Division One basketball.

In Riggins’ first high school football game as a freshman, Oliver said, he recorded three interceptions.

“It’s not just a flash here and there, even today he had another interception and this time he went for a touchdown,” Oliver said after practice Tuesday. “I was like, ‘Why didn’t you take the one at Ohio State for a touchdown?’ You’re always seeing improvement from A’Shon.”

Murphy said he believes Riggins will continue to improve quickly over the course of the next calendar year because when it comes time to work, he’s a worker.

On the way back from one of Riggins’ visits to IU, Murphy was attempting but failing to use the old-school cigarette-lighter phone charger in the middle consul of his car because a penny was lodged in the hole the charger needed to plug into. Murphy spent 20 seconds while driving trying to dig it out, but decided to write it off as a done deal and reserved himself to the reality he wouldn’t be able to charge his phone.

Enter Riggins.

As Murphy drove, Riggins spent what Murphy said was about 20 minutes using whatever kind of tool in the glove box of the car to dislodge the penny.

Riggins kept messing with it, messing with it, messing with it, and finally got it out.

“I’d have just been with a dead phone for the next hour of the trip home, but he had his mind to it and the next thing I know I got my phone charged,” Murphy said. “Just a phenomenal kid, just a phenomenal kid.”

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