By Like he does catching touchdowns, Bellevue West’s Micah Riley has taken his recruitment into his own hands — or at least his parents’ vehicle.
Riley, a 6-foot-6, 234-pound tight end, has taken self-guided campus tours to Wisconsin and Missouri recently. With the NCAA’s suspension of in-person recruiting through at least April 31, 2021 athletes and families have taken it upon themselves to travel to campuses and see for themselves what the prospective universities have to offer.
Riley was in Columbia, Mo., on Saturday to see Missouri’s spring game.
“It was pretty cool,” Riley said of his trip to Missouri. “Me and my parents got tickets to the spring game so it was a good experience to go see them practice. I met up with some of the (Missouri) commits and had a good time.”
Earlier this month Riley took a self-guided tour to Wisconsin. The Badgers have offered Riley and 2022 Bellevue West tight end Kaden Helms, Riley’s high school teammate.
“It was amazing. I loved the campus,” Riley said of his trip to Madison. “I wish I could have gone into the facilities but hopefully in June we’ll be allowed to see those things.”
Riley, like others in the 2022 class, are hopeful the suspension of in-person recruiting will be lifted later this spring and summer.
As a junior, Riley had 23 receptions for 310 yards and seven touchdowns.
Along with Missouri and Wisconsin, Riley holds offers from numerous power-conference schools and 30 Division I programs including Nebraska, Auburn, Iowa, Miami, Iowa State, Colorado, Florida State, Arizona State, Penn State, Arkansas, Michigan and Michigan State.
Riley is considering taking a self-guided visit to Colorado in the coming weeks. His hope is to take unofficial or official visits in June if the in-person suspension on recruiting is lifted.
A timeline to announce a top five or commitment to a school will come later this year.
“I’ll be announcing a top three or five after I can take my visits this summer,” Riley said. “From there I’ll probably commit in July or August.”
