When Ken Riley entered the NFL as a sixth-round pick by Cincinnati in 1969 after a successful college career as a dual-threat quarterback at Florida A&M, he was greeted with a harsh reality.
In an era when the model QB was a tall, drop-back passer, mobile QBs such as Riley from historically Black colleges typically got moved to other positions. So Riley was immediately told by Hall of Fame coach Paul Brown that his NFL career would be at cornerback not quarterback.
“That’s not an easy thing to accept,” said former Bengals teammate Dave Lapham. “I know he felt like he could have played quarterback in the National Football League. But he accepted the move to the corner and more than accepted it, he excelled at it.”
Riley excelled at the position switch so much with 65 career interceptions — tied for the fifth-most ever — and five returned for touchdowns that he will be inducted into the Pro Football Hall of Fame on Saturday, just more than three years after his death.
Riley took to the position switch right away with four interceptions as a rookie and never really slowed down until he retired after intercepting eight passes and earning first-team All-Pro honors at age 36 following the 1983 season.
“He worked hard just to master his craft, worked hard to accomplish what he was able to accomplish,” former Bengals receiver Isaac Curtis said. “To come in as a quarterback and be able to play 15 years in the NFL at cornerback, having never been a cornerback before, it just shows you the kind of work ethic and kind of athlete that he was. He prepared and played the game at a high level. You almost didn’t really realize it because he’s so low key and quiet. But at the end of the day, you look at what he accomplished was amazing.”
But Riley was known as much for being a great teammate and leader as he was for his play, with younger Bengals saying he took them under his wing and taught them how to handle themselves as professional football players on and off the field.
Those skills led him to return to his alma mater after his playing career where he coached for eight seasons and later served as athletic director at Florida A&M.