"I was just talking to coach Strip and I told him I wanted to be a Vol. I told him how much I enjoyed myself down at the camp and how much I liked the facilities," Riley told Volquest.com soon after his commitment.
"Just the facilities and the tradition there and they have your best interest in mind and I feel like under coach Strip I feel like I'm just going to get better," Riley explained. "Then, the love from the fans is more motivation and I want to be a part of that. I've been looking for that kind of atmosphere."
"We've really just now started to get to know each other. But, I really like what he's got going on with the defensive line there. I just want to be a part of it," Riley said. "He's coached at Michigan and Michigan State and he's definitely a top defensive line coach. He's won a lot of games and he's got a lot of spirit and he knows what he's talking about and I can see he knows what he's doing."
"I feel like I'm pretty committed. I feel like I saw everything I needed to see. I planned on doing something early so I could focus on getting better and school," Riley said. A four-star prospect, Riley attributes his budding stardom to his natural size and ability he's displayed after only playing the game one year. "I just started playing last year and I think I picked it up pretty fast," Riley said. "I feel like I came off the edge and did well. Ninety-nine percent of the time I was bigger and stronger than the other offensive linemen but then I could close on them, too."