Riley Skinner
From NCAA College Football Information & Resource
| |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
Riley Skinner (born October 21, 1986) plays quarterback for the Wake Forest University Demon Deacons in the NCAA college football tournament. Skinner's rise as one of the ACC's top-tier playcallers is well-documented, following the misfortune of then starter Ben Mauk. To the surprise of many, Skinner rose to the occassion and willingly filled the void by breaking several records to lead Wake Forest's unexpected success capped by the team's ACC Championship win in 2006. Skinner, who once outbested Clemson running back C.J. Spiller for the rookie of the year award, continues to be impressive on the field after emerging as the conference leader in passing efficiency despite a shoulder injury early in 2007 which caused him some passing problems early in the season.
Contents |
Personal Life
Riley is the son of Jennifer and Chip Skinner. He is not the first quarterback in the family to play football collegiately as his uncle once suited up for Vanderbilt. His father was also an athlete who played baseball at Georgia Tech.
In January of 2008, some naked pictures of Riley Skinner were posted all over the Internet. According to reports, Riley was said to have sent the photo to a sorority listserv before it spread on the web. [1]
High School
Skinner studied high school at The Bolles School in Jacksonville, Florida where he was a three-sport athlete, playing football, basketball, and baseball. He averaged 13 points per game while playing hoops and was also a pitcher for the baseball team. In 2004, he completed 77% of his passes (155-for-201) and threw for 2,306 yards and 31 touchdowns to lead the Bulldogs to the state championship. In that game, he broke the state championship game record after throwing for 356 yards and four touchdowns in less than four quarters of action to lead coach Corky Rodgers' Jacksonsville (FL) Bolles High to the Florida 3A state title and claim for himself the MVP award of the 3A state championship game. In the process, he was named as the Northeast Florida Player of the Year and the Jacksonville Quarterback Club player of the year as well as a third team 3A All-State, and second team All-First Coast selection after leading his team to a 14-game sweep. He capped his prep football career with a 28-2 record as Bolles' starting quarterback.
College
Despite a prolific high school career, Skinner did not receive a lot of offers and was courted only by Wake Forest, Hawai'i, and Miami (Ohio). In the end, he joinedd Bolles teammate John Russell and signed with the Demon Deacons.
2005
With Wake Forest being manned by Ben Mauk and back-up Cory Randolph, Skinner had to sit out as a true freshman on a redshirt.
2006
During the spring scrimmage, Skinner went toe-to-toe with Mauk, connecting on deep passes to wide receivers Kenneth Moore and Willie Idlette before finishing the game on 5-of-8 completion for 124 yards and a 52-yard touchdown to go with 21 rushing yards on four carries. He eventually landed the back-up role during the fall.
In the season opener, Mauk suffered an upper arm injury which opened the door for Skinner's unexpected debut. He took over in the third quarter and finished the game completing his lone attempt for a 13-yard gain while providing a block that helped a Deacon rusher go to the endzone in the 20-10 victory over Syracuse. With Mauk kept out of the line-up indefinitely, Skinner was thrust to start his first game against Duke, responding with 235 passing yards and his first career TD connection on 22-of-29 completion to lead the Demon Deacons to a slim 1-point victory. His 22 completions in that game tied the record (set in 2003 against North Carolina) for the most during the Jim Grobe Era and his overall performance netted him the ACC Rookie of the Week honors. At UConn, Skinner completed 7-of-16 passes for 110 yards and had a season high of 10 carries to lead Wake Forest to its third straight win. At Mississippi, Skinner was limited to 5 attempts, completing four for 43 yards as the Demon Deacons rushed their way to a 27-3 win. In Duke's fifth straight win, Skinner was 13-of-21 for 218 yards and 1 TD, in addition to 4 carries for 15 yards in the 20-point blowout of Liberty. Wake Forest suffered its first loss of the season at the hands 15th ranked Clemson, with Skinner connecting on 18 of his 23 passes for 169 yards and 1 interception. In addition to completing 18 passes, Skinner also caught his first career interception on a trick play but his first pick off and his fumble were costly in the Demon's Deacons come-from-behind loss.
At N.C. State, Skinner was 9-of-14 for 124 yards and 1 TD in the 25-23 victory, then was only 7-of-8 for 89 yards and 1 TD at North Carolina, although he did throw a block that paved the way for a Wake Forest scoring run in the 24-17 win over the Tar Heels. The next game, Skinner went 15-of-23 for 120 yards and 1 TD against 16th ranked Boston College but was picked off twice in the 21-14 upset win. At Florida State, against the homestate school that did not recruit him, Skinner completed 68 percent of his passes and went 13-of-19 for 138 yards with an 18-yard strike to John Tereshinski without any turnovers to help Wake Forest come out with a shocking 30-0 shut-out of the Seminoles and bag his second ACC Rookie of the Week accolade. The 14th ranked Demon Deacons however failed to sustain their momentum and bowed to Virginia Tech with Skinner limited to 56.7 completion (17 of 30) for 195 yards, with his 6-game streak with a TD snapped. At Maryland, he came up with an all-around performance after completing 10 of 13 passes for 125 yards and 1 TD (with 1 INT), rushing for 30 yards on 4 carries, and once again providing a pivotal block that resulted on a scoring run in the 38-24 regular-season ending win over the Terps.
Aside from winning the ACC Rookie honors for the third time, Skinner was also selected into the All-ACC Second Team and was picked as the best newcomer of the conference after pacing the league in passing efficiency, completion percentage and interception rate. He went on and led the team to a 9-6 win over Georgia Tech with 201 passing yards on 14-of-25 completion as Wake Forest wins its first ACC Title since 1970. Against Louisville at the Orange Bowl, Skinner had a career high in passing yards (271) and attempts (33), completing 21 of his passes with 1 touchdown in the 13-24 defeat to the Cards. Skinner finished his initial campaign leading the league in passing efficiency (139.61 rating), completing 171 of 260 passes for 2,051 yards and 9 touchdowns.
2007
In the annual spring scrimmage, Skinner finished 12-of-14 for 115 yards including a seven-yard touchdown strike to Moore. By this time, Skinner had the lock on the starting QB spot after Mauk opted not to return to the team earlier that year.
At Boston College, Skinner completed his first 10 passes of the game then finished with a 28 (career high)-of-37 completion with one touchdown and a career-high three interceptions before leaving in the third quarter of the 28-38 loss against the Eagles with an injury on his throwing shoulder (dislocated). He sat out the next two games and returned against Maryland only to throw three more interceptions; fortunately, he was able to complete 22 of 35 passes for 219 yards and 1 score to go with a 1-yard TD sneak as he and the rest of the Demon Deacons successfully put up a come-from-behind victory. He also threw an interception and went 22 of 30 for 221 yards in the win at Duke then once again spearhead an upset of 21st ranked FSU after nailing a 35-yard touchdown pass in the fourth quarter that settled a 24-21 decision over the Seminoles, marking the first time the Demon Deacons were able to defeat the Noles two in a row in school history. He finished the game completing 19 of 27 passes for 215 yards and two touchdowns. At Navy, Skinner compiled his 5th straight 200-yard passing game with 213 yards and 2 TDs on 22 of 28 completion in the 44-24 win. The game marked the first time Skinner did not throw any interception during the season.
Against North Carolina, Skinner completed 12 of 15 passes for 133 yards to lead Wake to its sixth straight win, which was snapped a week later by the Hokies via a last minute TD. Skinner finished the Virginia game 20-for-26 for 175 yards and 1 TD with 1 INT and had a career high 11 carries for 22 yards. At Clemson, Skinner went 21-for-30 for 170 yards with 1 INT as the Tigers handed the Demon Deacons their worst loss of the season. Against N.C. State, Skinner was 20-of-29 for 208 yards and 2 TDs as Wake Forest got back on the winning track with a 38-18 win over the Wolfpack. He finished the regular season completing 21 of 31 passes for 148 yards and 2 TDs in the 31-17 victory at Vanderbilt. At the Meineke Car Care Bowl, Skinner completed 29-of-38 passes for 268 yards and 1 TD while rushing 6 times for 16 yards in the 24-10 triumph over Connecticut. The game had Skinner post a career high 29 completions which along with his 268 passing yards, broke Meineke Car Care Bowl records both set in 2004. The victory also gave Skinner his 18th win as Wake Forest's starting quarterback, tying Mike Elkins' school record set from 1985-88.
Apart from making it into the All-ACC Academic team, Skinner also capped his sophomore season as the nation's most accurate passer in 2007, leading the Bowl Subdivision in completion percentage at 72.4% after completing 236 of 326 pass attempts for 2,204 yards. In the process, he broke his own mark of 65.8% set in 2006, zoomed into the leader board of the school's career completion percentage category, and set ACC records for season and career completion percentage that same year.
2008
During the spring game, Skinner went 12 of 14 for 115 yards and 1 TD.
Career Stats
| Passing | ||||||||||
| Year | Cmp | Att | Yds | Cmp% | Ypa | Lng | TD | Int | Sack | Rat |
| 2006 | 171 | 260 | 2051 | 65.8 | 7.89 | 59 | 9 | 5 | 23 | 139.61 |
| 2007 | 236 | 326 | 2204 | 72.4 | 6.76 | 62 | 12 | 13 | 23 | 133.36 |
Highlights
| Riley Skinner talks to the media prior to the Orange Bowl. |
Achievements
2008
- Athlon Sports Preseason Second-Team All-ACC
- Phil Steele Preseason All-ACC Fourth Team
2007
- CollegeFootballNews.com's #3 QB in the ACC
- Phil Steele All-ACC Honorable Mention
- Wake Forest's Most Outstanding Offensive Back
2006
- ACC Rookie Of The Week (vs. Duke, vs. Florida State, vs. Maryland)
- ACC Rookie Of The Year
- Atlantic Coast Sports Media Association All-ACC Second Team
- CollegeFootballNews.com All-ACC Second Team
- CollegeFootballNews.com's #2 QB in the ACC
- The Sporting News ACC All-Freshman Team
- The Sporting News Freshman All-America Second Team
Records
2006
- Broke Cory Randolph's school record for single season completion percentage (65.8)
- Broke Mike Elkins' school records for single season completion percentage (65.8), passing yards (2051), passing attempts (260), completions (171) and passing touchdowns (9) by a redshirt freshman
- Broke Ben Mauk's school record for most total offense by a redshirt freshman (1,980 yards)
- Broke Keith West's school records for passing attempts (33), completions (21) and passing yards (271) in a bowl game
References
- Riley Skinner CfbStats.com Profile
- Riley Skinner ESPN.com Profile
- Riley Skinner Scout.com Profile
- Riley Skinner Wake Forest Profile
- Riley Skinner Wikipedia
- Sweet revenge for Deacons' Skinner
