Cody Tyler Riggs (born December 30, 1991) is an American former professional

football Football is a family of team sports that involve, to varying degrees, kick (football), kicking a football (ball), ball to score a goal (sports), goal. Unqualified, football (word), the word ''football'' generally means the form of football t ...

cornerback A cornerback (CB) is a member of the defensive backfield or secondary in gridiron football. Cornerbacks cover Wide receiver, receivers most of the time, but also blitz and defend against such Play from scrimmage, offensive running plays as sweep ...

. He played

college football College football is gridiron football that is played by teams of amateur Student athlete, student-athletes at universities and colleges. It was through collegiate competition that gridiron football American football in the United States, firs ...

Florida Florida ( ; ) is a U.S. state, state in the Southeastern United States, Southeastern region of the United States. It borders the Gulf of Mexico to the west, Alabama to the northwest, Georgia (U.S. state), Georgia to the north, the Atlantic ...

and Notre Dame.

Early life

Riggs attended St. Thomas Aquinas High School in

Fort Lauderdale, Florida Fort Lauderdale ( ) is a coastal city located in the U.S. state of Florida, north of Miami along the Atlantic Ocean. It is the county seat of and most populous city in Broward County, Florida, Broward County with a population of 182,760 at the ...

. He was predominately a

running back A running back (RB) is a member of the offensive backfield in gridiron football. The primary roles of a running back are to receive American football plays#Offensive terminology, handoffs from the quarterback to Rush (American football)#Offense ...

before switching to

defensive back In gridiron football, defensive backs (DBs), also called the secondary, are the players on the defensive side of the ball who play farthest back from the line of scrimmage. They are distinguished from the other two sets of defensive players, the ...

as a junior. He recorded 25 tackles, picked off eight passes and batted down a team record of 24 others during his senior season. At Aquinas, Riggs was teammates with

Lamarcus Joyner Lamarcus Joyner (born November 27, 1990) is an American former professional football player who was a safety of the National Football League (NFL). After being named 2009 Defensive High School Player of the Year by ''USA Today'', he played colle ...

, Brandon Linder,

Giovani Bernard Giovani Govan Bernard (born November 22, 1991) is an American former professional football running back who played ten seasons in the National Football League (NFL). He played college football for the North Carolina Tar Heels, and was selected ...

, James White, Dezmen Southward, Bobby Hart,

Duron Carter Duron Christopher Carter (born March 22, 1991) is an American professional football defensive back. He was initially a member of the Montreal Alouettes of the Canadian Football League (CFL) as a wide receiver and has also played for the Saskatche ...

, Marcus Roberson, and

Rashad Greene Rashad Greene Sr. (born September 23, 1992) is an American former professional football wide receiver. He played college football at Florida State, and was selected by the Jacksonville Jaguars in the fifth round of the 2015 NFL draft. Early lif ...

. He participated in the 2010

Under Armour All-America Game The Under Armour High School All-America Game is a high school football all-star game typically held in early January in the United States, U.S. U.S. state, state of Florida created to spotlight the nation’s top high school seniors. The game wa ...

St. Petersburg, Florida St. Petersburg is a city in Pinellas County, Florida, United States. As of the 2020 census, the population was 258,308, making it the List of municipalities in Florida, fifth-most populous city in Florida and the most populous city in the sta ...

. Considered a four-star recruit by Rivals.com, he was rated as the 11th best

prospect of his class. Riggs committed to

over offers from

Georgia Georgia most commonly refers to: * Georgia (country), a country in the South Caucasus * Georgia (U.S. state), a state in the southeastern United States Georgia may also refer to: People and fictional characters * Georgia (name), a list of pe ...

, Notre Dame and

Tennessee Tennessee (, ), officially the State of Tennessee, is a landlocked U.S. state, state in the Southeastern United States, Southeastern region of the United States. It borders Kentucky to the north, Virginia to the northeast, North Carolina t ...

College career

As a true freshman, Riggs played in all 13 games, including a start in the 2011 Outback Bowl vs.

Penn State #Redirect Pennsylvania State University The Pennsylvania State University (Penn State or PSU) is a Public university, public Commonwealth System of Higher Education, state-related Land-grant university, land-grant research university with ca ...

, which he recorded an interception. He made 10 starts as a sophomore, recording 31 tackles on the season, including 1.5 for loss. He only played in two games as a junior before fracturing his foot against

Texas A&M Texas A&M University (Texas A&M, A&M, TA&M, or TAMU) is a public university, public, Land-grant university, land-grant, research university in College Station, Texas, United States. It was founded in 1876 and became the flagship institution of ...

, and received a

medical redshirt Redshirt, in United States college athletics, is a delay or suspension of an athlete's participation in order to lengthen their period of eligibility. Typically, a student's athletic eligibility in a given sport is four seasons, aligning with the ...

. He returned as a senior, moving to

safety Safety is the state of being protected from harm or other danger. Safety can also refer to the control of recognized hazards in order to achieve an acceptable level of risk. Meanings The word 'safety' entered the English language in the 1 ...

for the Gators. He started all 12 games, finishing fourth on the team in tackles with 51, adding 6.5 for loss. On February 5, 2014, Florida head coach

Will Muschamp William Lawrence Muschamp (born August 3, 1971) is an American football coach and former player who is a defensive analyst at the University of Georgia. He previously served as the Bulldogs' co-defensive coordinator and safeties coach from 2022 ...

confirmed that Riggs would spend his final season of eligibility at another school following his graduation from the university. On February 19, 2014, Riggs confirmed that he was transferring to the

University of Notre Dame The University of Notre Dame du Lac (known simply as Notre Dame; ; ND) is a Private university, private Catholic research university in Notre Dame, Indiana, United States. Founded in 1842 by members of the Congregation of Holy Cross, a Cathol ...

. In his final season in college, he moved back to cornerback for the Irish. He started 11 games, missing two due to an ankle injury. He recorded 36 tackles, one interception, three pass breakups and one forced fumble.

Professional career

Tennessee Titans

Riggs went undrafted in the

2015 NFL draft The 2015 NFL draft was the 80th annual meeting of National Football League (NFL) franchises to select newly eligible American football, football players. It took place in Chicago at the Auditorium Theatre and in Grant Park (Chicago), Grant Park ...

but signed a free-agent contract with

Tennessee Titans The Tennessee Titans are a professional American football team based in Nashville, Tennessee. The Titans compete in the National Football League (NFL) as a member of the American Football Conference (AFC) AFC South, South division. They play the ...

following the draft. On September 8, 2016, Riggs was released by the Titans. On September 12, 2016, he was re-signed by the Titans. On November 7, Riggs was again released by the Titans.

Tampa Bay Buccaneers

On November 22, 2016, Riggs was signed to the Buccaneers' practice squad. He signed a reserve/future contract with the Buccaneers on January 2, 2017. On September 2, 2017, Riggs was waived by the Buccaneers. He was re-signed to their practice squad on December 6, 2017.

Orlando Apollos

In August 2018, Riggs joined the

Orlando Apollos The Orlando Apollos were a professional American football franchise based in Orlando, Florida, and one of the eight members of the Alliance of American Football (AAF), which began play in February 2019. The team played its home games at Spectr ...

of the

Alliance of American Football The Alliance of American Football (AAF) was a professional American football minor league. The AAF consisted of eight centrally owned and operated teams in the southern and western United States, seven of which were located in metropolitan area ...

, eventually making the team's 2019 roster. The league ceased operations in April 2019.

Personal life

Cody's father, Gerald Riggs, was a three-time

Pro Bowl The National Football League All-Star Game (1939–1942), Pro Bowl (1951–2022), or Pro Bowl Games (since 2023) is an annual event held by the National Football League (NFL) featuring the league's All-star, star players. The format has changed ...

in the

NFL The National Football League (NFL) is a professional American football league in the United States. Composed of 32 teams, it is divided equally between the American Football Conference (AFC) and the National Football Conference (NFC). The N ...

for 10 seasons. His older brother, Gerald Riggs Jr., was a running back at

, who played briefly with the

Miami Dolphins The Miami Dolphins are a professional American football team based in the Miami metropolitan area. The Dolphins compete in the National Football League (NFL) as a member of the American Football Conference (AFC) AFC East, East division. The team ...

and

Chicago Bears The Chicago Bears are a professional American football team based in Chicago. The Bears compete in the National Football League (NFL) as a member of the National Football Conference (NFC) NFC North, North division. They are one of two remaining ...

before playing three seasons with the

Toronto Argonauts The Toronto Argonauts (officially the Toronto Argonaut Football Club and colloquially known as the Argos) are a professional Canadian football team based in Toronto, Ontario. The Argonauts compete in the East Division (CFL), East Division of t ...

of the

CFL The Canadian Football League (CFL; , LCF) is a professional Canadian football league in Canada. It comprises nine teams divided into two divisions, with four teams in the East Division and five in the West Division. The CFL is the highest pr ...

. His uncle,

Bobby Brown Robert Barisford Brown Sr. (born February 5, 1969) is an American singer, songwriter, rapper, and dancer. Alongside frequent collaborator Teddy Riley, he is recognized as a pioneer of new jack swing: a fusion of hip-hop and Contemporary R&B, R ...

, was a

wide receiver A wide receiver (WR), also referred to as a wideout, and historically known as a split end (SE) or flanker (FL), is an eligible receiver in gridiron football. A key skill position of the offense (American football), offense, WR gets its name ...

at the

from 1996–1999.

References

External links

Notre Dame profile

Florida profile
{{DEFAULTSORT:Riggs, Cody 1991 births Living people American football cornerbacks Florida Gators football players Notre Dame Fighting Irish football players Under Armour All-American football players Players of American football from Fort Lauderdale, Florida Riggs, Cody Tennessee Titans players Tampa Bay Buccaneers players Orlando Apollos players