Quick Facts
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Riley Reiff (born December 1, 1988) is an American football offensive tackle for the Detroit Lions. He was one of the top ranked offensive tackles of his class and was a first-round selection in the 2012 NFL Draft.
High school career
Reiff attended Parkston High School in Parkston, South Dakota, where he was a two-way lineman. In fact, he was listed as a three-star defensive end prospect by Rivals.com in 2008. Reiff chose Iowa over offers from Minnesota and Nebraska.
College career
After redshirting his initial year at Iowa, Reiff started 11 of 13 games on the Hawkeyes' offensive line—three at left tackle, seven at left guard and final game at right tackle. He was named third team Freshman All-America by College Football News. In his sophomore year, Reiff replaced Bryan Bulaga at left tackle, starting all 13 games of the season. He was named second team All-Big Ten by league coaches and media.
A preseason All-American, Reiff started all 13 games at left tackle in his junior season as well. He was named All-Big Ten by coaches and media, as well as All-American by Pro Football Weekly, which evaluates players on NFL prospects and draft value rather just college production. On January 4, 2012, only a few days after Iowa's loss in the 2011 Insight Bowl, Reiff announced his decision to forgo his final year of eligibility at Iowa, entering the 2012 NFL Draft.
Professional career
2012 NFL Draft
Already prior to his junior season, Reiff has been projected as a potential first round NFL Draft. In October 2011, Sports Illustrated′s Tony Pauline ranked him as the No. 14 prospect on his midseason draft board. Prior to the NFL Combine in February 2012, Reiff was still perceived as a top-15 pick. At the combine, Reiff displayed decent athleticism but disappointed with his measureables; his 33 1⁄4 in (84.5 cm) arms—although longer than those of Joe Thomas (32 1⁄2 in or 82.6 cm) and Jake Long (32 7⁄8 in or 83.5 cm)—were deemed too short for an NFL left tackle. As a result, Reiff dropped out of the first round in some post-combine mock drafts. However, Mike Mayock still ranked him the No. 2 offensive tackle, behind Matt Kalil, after the combine, just as he did prior to the combine.
Reiff was drafted by the Lions at 23rd overall. He was the second of only two offensive tackles selected in the first round of the 2012 NFL Draft (behind Matt Kalil).
| Ht | Wt | Arm length | Hand size | 40-yd dash | 10-yd split | 20-yd split | 20-ss | 3-cone | Vert | Broad | BP | ||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 6 ft 5⅝ in | 313 lb | 33¼ in | 10⅛ in | 5.23 s | 4.75 s | 7.87 s | 26½ in | 8 ft 2 in | 23 reps | ||||||||||
| All values from NFL Combine | |||||||||||||||||||
2012 season
Reiff's duties in his rookie campaign were limited to that of a blocking tight end/H-back. Reiff had one start at the left tackle position coming in the teams Thanksgiving Day matchup against the Houston Texans. Despite his limited role in the 2012 season Reiff was rated as the Lions top run blocker by Pro Football Focus.
2013 season
After veteran Lions tackle Jeff Backus retired before the start of the 2013 season, Reiff took over his position at left tackle. He prepared for his expanded duties by adding over 12 pounds of muscle.
2015 season
On April 24, 2015, the Lions announced that they would pick up the fifth-year option of Reiff's contract.
Personal
While an incoming freshman at Iowa, Reiff was charged with public intoxication, being arrested only after a 20-minute foot chase through downtown Iowa City, Iowa.
Riley Reiff has a younger brother, Brady Reiff—a 3-star recruit—who as of April 2014 has committed to play football at Iowa as well as a Defensive End.