Three-star safety has SEC offers, UT interest

Gary Riggs starts on both offense and defense for Jennings (La.) High, but he said that he was forced to focus on offense this year. Now that the season is over, Riggs just wishes he were still focusing on football, period.

“I’ve been moving on to basketball now, but I wish we had made the playoffs,” Riggs said. “Now I’m just talking to coaches and stuff. I talk to Ole Miss and South Carolina, they’ve both given me an offer, and Tennessee and Florida. I talked to Coach Fulmer at Tennessee, and he said that he’d be checking up on me, which was really cool. I’m still pretty open, though.”

Riggs knows that visits could help create separation between his likely schools, but he said that he hasn’t thought out where and when he would go. On first though, he said he would probably make a visit to Tennessee and Florida to see the schools for a first time.

While the season’s end was a bittersweet experience for the safety prospect, Jennings could look back on it with some warm feelings.

“I had a really strong season,” he said. “I was mostly about offense, and I was one of the state’s leading rushers. I had 12 touchdowns and six interceptions. I really got physical, because I have a lot of ability to get past opponents. I take my game seriously, and I try to play with heart, character and pride.”

A former star pitcher for Jennings’ baseball team, Riggs has football success in his genes, with a current NFL star to look up to in his family.

“Kenny Mixon, the defensive end for the Vikings, is my cousin,” Riggs said. “It’s nice to have him to look up to, but I have friends out there, too.”