Kevin Riley (born January 27, 1987) is a former

American football American football, referred to simply as football in the United States and Canada and also known as gridiron football, is a team sport played by two teams of eleven players on a rectangular American football field, field with goalposts at e ...

quarterback The quarterback (QB) is a position in gridiron football who are members of the offensive side of the ball and mostly line up directly behind the Lineman (football), offensive line. In modern American football, the quarterback is usually consider ...

for the

California Golden Bears The California Golden Bears are the athletic teams that represent the University of California, Berkeley. Referred to in athletic competition as ''California'' or ''Cal'', the university fields 30 varsity athletic programs and various club te ...

. He played for California from 2007 to 2010.

Early life

Riley was born on January 27, 1987, to parents Faustin and Rhonda Riley in

Portland, Oregon Portland ( ) is the List of cities in Oregon, most populous city in the U.S. state of Oregon, located in the Pacific Northwest region. Situated close to northwest Oregon at the confluence of the Willamette River, Willamette and Columbia River, ...

. He attended

Beaverton High School Beaverton High School (BHS) is a public high school located in Beaverton, Oregon, United States. It is the oldest high school in Beaverton and is believed to be the oldest public high school in the state of Oregon that is in its original locatio ...

, where he played

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 ...

. Riley was considered the top player in Oregon as a senior by Rivals.com and SuperPrep magazine. He was named Portland metro area player of the year after passing for 2,580 yards with just six interceptions on 239 attempts. He was team MVP and vice president of his class as a junior and senior.

College career

2007

Riley made his first career start for the injured

Nate Longshore Nathan Dean Longshore (born June 30, 1986) is a former American football American football, referred to simply as football in the United States and Canada and also known as gridiron football, is a team sport played by two teams of eleve ...

in California's homecoming game against

Oregon State Oregon State University (OSU) is a public land-grant research university in Corvallis, Oregon, United States. OSU offers more than 200 undergraduate degree programs and a variety of graduate and doctoral degrees through all 11 of the universit ...

. Riley passed for 294 yards, two touchdowns, and rushed for a touchdown but California lost the game when he scrambled instead of throwing the ball away to set up a field goal to tie the game. Riley did get credit for putting Cal in a situation to win after being down 31-21 late in the fourth quarter. Riley took over for Longshore in the second quarter of the

2007 Armed Forces Bowl The 2007 Bell Helicopter Armed Forces Bowl was a post-season college football bowl game between the California Golden Bears and the Air Force Falcons played on December 31, 2007, at Amon G. Carter Stadium in Fort Worth, Texas, United States. The ...

. He passed for 269 yard, 3 touchdowns, and rushed for a touchdown, helping the Bears turn a 21-0 deficit into a victory. Riley was the game's MVP.

2008

Riley competed with Longshore for the starting quarterback job, winning the position for the first four games. He led the Bears to wins over

Michigan State Michigan State University (Michigan State or MSU) is a public land-grant research university in East Lansing, Michigan, United States. It was founded in 1855 as the Agricultural College of the State of Michigan, the first of its kind in the ...

at home, throwing for 202 yards and two touchdowns. He only played during the first half of the Bears' 66-3 rout of

Washington State Washington, officially the State of Washington, is a state in the Pacific Northwest region of the United States. It is often referred to as Washington State to distinguish it from the national capital, both named after George Washington ...

, which allowed the backup players to get some starting time. The win resulted in the Bears breaking into the Top 25 at #23, but they were upset in

College Park, Maryland College Park is a city in Prince George's County, Maryland, United States, located approximately from the northeast border of Washington, D.C. Its population was 34,740 at the 2020 United States census. It is the home of the University of Mary ...

on September 13 by the unranked

Maryland Terrapins The Maryland Terrapins, commonly referred to as the Terps, consist of 19 men's and women's college sports in the United States, varsity intercollegiate athletic teams that represent the University of Maryland, College Park in National Collegiate ...

. With the Bears' offense stifled by the Terrapins' defense for three quarters, Riley threw three touchdown passes in the fourth quarter for 423 yards on 58 attempts, a school record for the most pass attempts. Cal on offense at 2008 Big Game 1

Two weeks later, he started against Colorado State at home on September 27, during which he threw for 59 yards and one touchdown pass. With Cal up 21-0, Nate Longshore stepped in at quarterback in the third quarter and threw for two touchdowns in the fourth. This resulted in the starting quarterback position being reopened by head coach

Jeff Tedford Jeffrey Raye Tedford (born November 2, 1961) is an American football coach and former player. From 2002 to 2012, Tedford was the head football coach for the California Golden Bears, where he was twice named Pac-10 Coach of the Year and holds ...

for the following week against

Arizona State Arizona State University (Arizona State or ASU) is a public research university in Tempe, Arizona, United States. Founded in 1885 as Territorial Normal School by the 13th Arizona Territorial Legislature, the university is one of the largest ...

on October 4. Longshore was picked as the starter and led the Bears to a 24-14 victory. On October 18, Riley stepped in at quarterback in the fourth quarter during an away game against the Arizona Wildcats. He was unable to lead a comeback, throwing for 97 yards and one interception, and the Bears fell to the Wildcats 42-27. Riley got the start the following week against the UCLA Bruins, his first since Colorado State nearly a month prior. He threw for 153 yards and two touchdowns, both in the fourth quarter, in the 41-20 victory. Riley also got the start the following week against the

Oregon Ducks The Oregon Ducks are the College sports in the United States, intercollegiate athletic teams that represent the University of Oregon, located in Eugene, Oregon, Eugene. The Ducks compete at the National Collegiate Athletic Association (NCAA) NCA ...

. He sustained a concussion after being hit in the first quarter when he failed to slide while trying to gain a first down and did not return to the game. Longshore stepped in and led the Bears to a 26-16 upset over #23 Oregon. The following week against

USC USC may refer to: Education United States * Universidad del Sagrado Corazón, Santurce, Puerto Rico * University of South Carolina, Columbia, South Carolina ** University of South Carolina System, a state university system of South Carolina * ...

, Riley took over in the second half but was unable to lead the Bears to an upset of the #6 Trojans. Riley got the start the following week against

Stanford Leland Stanford Junior University, commonly referred to as Stanford University, is a private research university in Stanford, California, United States. It was founded in 1885 by railroad magnate Leland Stanford (the eighth governor of and th ...

for the 111th Big Game. He threw for 101 yards, including three touchdown passes, in the Bears' 37-16 victory over the Cardinal and reclaiming of the

Stanford Axe The Stanford Axe is a trophy awarded to the winner of the annual Big Game, a college football match-up between the University of California, Berkeley Golden Bears and the Stanford Cardinal. The trophy consists of an axe-head mounted on a large ...

. Riley's three start run ended when Longshore was picked over him to start the

2008 Emerald Bowl The 2008 Emerald Bowl, part of the 2008–09 NCAA football bowl games season, was played on December 27, 2008, at AT&T Park, the home field of the Giants in San Francisco, California. The Miami Hurricanes of the ACC were matched against the Cali ...

against the

Miami Hurricanes The Miami Hurricanes, known informally as The U, UM, or The 'Canes, are the intercollegiate sports teams that represent the University of Miami in Coral Gables, Florida. The Hurricanes compete in NCAA Division I, Division I of the National Coll ...

, which the Bears won 24-17. Riley was expected to compete for the starting quarterback position in 2009 with redshirt freshman Brock Mansion.

2009

Riley was named the starter for the 2009 season a week before the team's season opener against

Maryland Maryland ( ) is a U.S. state, state in the Mid-Atlantic (United States), Mid-Atlantic region of the United States. It borders the states of Virginia to its south, West Virginia to its west, Pennsylvania to its north, and Delaware to its east ...

, a contrast to 2008 when head coach Jeff Tedford alternated between him and

. On September 5, Riley threw for 298 yards and four touchdowns against the Terrapins, each to a different receiver. The following week against

Eastern Washington Eastern Washington is the region of the U.S. state of Washington located east of the Cascade Range. It contains the city of Spokane (the second largest city in the state), the Tri-Cities, the Columbia River and the Grand Coulee Dam, the H ...

he threw for 151 yards and a score, also getting his first rushing touchdown of the season. At Cal's first away game on September 19 against

Minnesota Minnesota ( ) is a U.S. state, state in the Upper Midwestern region of the United States. It is bordered by the Canadian provinces of Manitoba and Ontario to the north and east and by the U.S. states of Wisconsin to the east, Iowa to the so ...

, he passed for 252 yards. Riley struggled the following week against

Oregon Oregon ( , ) is a U.S. state, state in the Pacific Northwest region of the United States. It is a part of the Western U.S., with the Columbia River delineating much of Oregon's northern boundary with Washington (state), Washington, while t ...

, being sacked four times and held to 123 passing yards. Although was replaced in the fourth quarter by Beau Sweeney, the Bears could only muster a field goal to Oregon's 42 points. Riley fared slightly better against

on October 3, throwing for 198 yards and an interception. However, the Bears were again blown out in a 30-3 loss. Two weeks later against

UCLA The University of California, Los Angeles (UCLA) is a public land-grant research university in Los Angeles, California, United States. Its academic roots were established in 1881 as a normal school then known as the southern branch of the C ...

, Riley bounced back, leading the Bears to a 45-26 victory in which he threw for 205 yards and three touchdowns. He followed this up with a 229-yard and three touchdown performance against

, the worst team in the conference. Riley played perhaps his best game of the season against

in Tempe. Cal narrowly defeated the Sun Devils 23-21, with Riley throwing for 351 yards and a pair of touchdowns. On November 7, despite passing for 200 yards and a touchdown, Cal sustained its fifth straight loss to

. In Cal's final home game against #18

Arizona Arizona is a U.S. state, state in the Southwestern United States, Southwestern region of the United States, sharing the Four Corners region of the western United States with Colorado, New Mexico, and Utah. It also borders Nevada to the nort ...

, the Bears upset the Wildcats 24-16. Riley threw for 181 yards and a touchdown, being intercepted twice. Cal entered the Big Game against

as the underdog on November 21, hanging on to pull off a 34-28 upset in which Riley threw for 235 yards and a touchdown. The regular season ended for Riley on a sour note, with an upset by

Washington Washington most commonly refers to: * George Washington (1732–1799), the first president of the United States * Washington (state), a state in the Pacific Northwest of the United States * Washington, D.C., the capital of the United States ** A ...

in which he was sacked five times, despite throwing for a score and 215 yards. Against

Utah Utah is a landlocked state in the Mountain states, Mountain West subregion of the Western United States. It is one of the Four Corners states, sharing a border with Arizona, Colorado, and New Mexico. It also borders Wyoming to the northea ...

in the

Poinsettia Bowl The Poinsettia Bowl was an annual college football bowl game held in San Diego, California, from 2005 to 2016. The game was originally played from 1952 to 1955 between military services teams; in 2005 it was re-created by the organizers of the ...

, Riley passed for 214 yards in the 37-27 loss. He accounted for all three of Cal's turnovers and was sacked four times.

2010

Riley entered the 2010 season as the Pac-10 Conference leader in wins and touchdown passes. He was named to the watch list for the

Manning Award The Manning Award has been presented annually since the 2004 football season to the collegiate American football quarterback as judged by the Sugar Bowl Committee to be the best in the United States. It is the only quarterback award that inc ...

on July 22. Despite an inconsistent performance in 2009, he retained the starting quarterback job. In the season opener against

UC Davis The University of California, Davis (UC Davis, UCD, or Davis) is a Public university, public Land-grant university, land-grant research university in Davis, California, United States. It is the northernmost of the ten campuses of the University ...

on September 4, Riley threw for 258 yards and three touchdowns, following this up with 197 yards and four scores, all to different receivers, the following week against

Colorado Colorado is a U.S. state, state in the Western United States. It is one of the Mountain states, sharing the Four Corners region with Arizona, New Mexico, and Utah. It is also bordered by Wyoming to the north, Nebraska to the northeast, Kansas ...

. On September 17 he had 277 yards, a touchdown and three interceptions in a loss to

Nevada Nevada ( ; ) is a landlocked state in the Western United States. It borders Oregon to the northwest, Idaho to the northeast, California to the west, Arizona to the southeast, and Utah to the east. Nevada is the seventh-most extensive, th ...

Reno Reno ( ) is a city in the northwest section of the U.S. state of Nevada, along the Nevada–California border. It is the county seat and most populous city of Washoe County, Nevada, Washoe County. Sitting in the High Eastern Sierra foothills, ...

, while throwing for 116 yards and an interception in a narrow loss to

on September 25. On October 9 against

, he threw for 83 yards and a touchdown, while scoring himself on a rushing touchdown. Riley sustained a season-ending injury to his left knee when he was hit low during an October 30 road game against

and had to be helped from the field. He did not return to the game. Junior redshirt Brock Mansion was the starter for the remainder of the season.

Post college career

Riley was invited to participate in the

San Francisco 49ers The San Francisco 49ers (also written as the San Francisco Forty-Niners and nicknamed the Niners) are a professional American football team based in the San Francisco Bay Area. The 49ers compete in the National Football League (NFL) as a member ...

' Local Pro Day in April 2011. He also tried out for the

BC Lions The BC Lions are a professional Canadian football team based in Vancouver, British Columbia. The Lions compete in the West Division (CFL), West Division of the Canadian Football League (CFL), and play their home games at BC Place. The Lions playe ...

of the

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

. Riley signed with the Lions on May 27, but was later cut by the team on June 5. Riley now works in medical sales in San Francisco.

Awards and honors

MVP * Named

Pac-10 The Pac-12 Conference is a collegiate athletic conference in the Western United States. It participates at the National Collegiate Athletic Association (NCAA) Division I level for all sports, and its football teams compete in the Football Bowl ...

offensive player of the week, September 5, 2009

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Riley, Kevin 1987 births Living people American football quarterbacks California Golden Bears football players Beaverton High School alumni Sportspeople from Beaverton, Oregon Players of American football from Oregon