With seven touchdowns in his past three games, Eron Riley has plenty of reasons to smile.
But for the player who teammates routinely call "E-Smiley" and "Smiley Riley," the positive energy radiating from one of the ACC's top wide receivers is just a part of his personality.
"If something goes wrong, he's not really going to get down," fellow wide receiver Jomar Wright said. "He's pretty even-keeled, and that helps out a lot on Saturdays. If something is going wrong, or goes right, then he is still the same person. [He] still has that smile on his face and is just going to go out there and do his job."
About the only people that haven't been smiling about Riley's performance this season are opposing defensive coordinators. After catching only six passes for 85 yards in Duke's first two contests, Riley went on a tear over his next four games. In that stretch, Riley hauled in 19 receptions for 459 yards with seven touchdowns-numbers that have placed him securely among the best receivers in the ACC and NCAA. Riley ranks first in the conference and 15th nationally in receiving yards and leads the ACC in both receiving touchdowns and receiving yards per game.
But perhaps even more impressive has been how Riley has racked up his league-leading stat totals. Of his seven touchdowns this season, five have come on plays of 30 yards or more, with his three longest coming on receptions of 76, 69 and 68 yards.
Riley's recent spurt of impact plays has made him one of the top-two receivers in the conference and top-10 country in terms of yards per reception, a feat that comes as no surprise to head coach Ted Roof.
"He's a guy that led the league in yards per reception last year, a fact that not a whole lot of people knew," Roof said. "Eron is a big play guy, and he has the capability to do that.... We expect him to do that, and we're not surprised by it."
A quick glance at the physically gifted Riley, however, would probably dispel any surprises about his breakout season. Although Wright describes Riley upon first seeing him in his freshman year as a "goofy guy" who was "real tall and lanky and really didn't have any muscles," the 200-pound Riley has since grown into his 6-foot-3 frame. His size advantage, coupled with deceptive speed, has been a major factor in Riley's evolution into a top-flight wideout.
"He's sneaky fast," Roof said. "His mechanics of running are all over the place, because he's so lanky, and then all of a sudden you look up and he is even with you, or may have a half a step on you. And then when Thad puts the ball on him, he's got a leverage advantage, a height advantage and a reach advantage to be able to go get it."
Riley put all of these physical tools on display Sept. 22 in a career performance against Navy, when he had four touchdown receptions for 235 yards-figures that are tops in the ACC this season-.
On his first touchdown of that game, Riley was forced out-of-bounds by a Navy cornerback as the two jostled for position with the ball still in the air. The Duke receiver found a way to hone in on the pass, re-establish himself inbounds, catch it and run it in 76 yards for the touchdown. Later in the game, Riley was easily three to four steps behind a Navy defender when quarterback Thaddeus Lewis let go of a deep pass down the sideline from the Navy 35. As soon as the ball was thrown, Riley accelerated past the Navy defensive back, catching the ball at least five yards ahead of the defender and easily cruising into the end zone for his second score of the game.
"When I see the ball in the air, another gear kicks in," Riley said. "I hate to see the ball hit the ground two yards in front of me, so I just start moving."
Riley's success has also had a peripheral effect on the rest of Duke's talented receiving corps. With defenses paying additional attention to the threat of Riley down the field, more space has been opened up for his fellow wideouts.
"After I make a few plays, I do kind of notice the safeties [shift over], but that's when other receivers step up and make plays, too," Riley said. "It helps to take away some of the middle coverage. Jomar operates most of the time in the middle, so he makes plays there."
But despite his important role in Duke's offensive success in recent games, the humble Riley deflected praise, instead emphasizing the importance of his quarterback's stellar play.
Lewis--who spent many long hours in the summer running routes with Riley and the other wideouts-has taken major strides this season that have fueled Riley's impressive year.
"He's the one that's getting us the ball," Riley said. "We can only be as good as he is, so as long as he gets better, we're going to get better right along with him."
With size and speed that some NFL wide receivers would be envious of, a look ahead to a potential pro career would certainly be tempting. And although Riley described playing in the NFL as any college football player's dream, he demurred the impending possibility of such a career with his usual facial expression--a smile.
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