Ben Riva, the 6-foot-6, 285-pound offensive tackle from O’Dea High School in Seattle, Wash., hasn’t received any new offers. He says he now favors Washington and Washington State, both of whom have offered, slightly over UCLA, Oregon, Nebraska and Northwestern.
Although Riva’s first offer was from Washington last September, that was from the old coaching staff. He says the new staff re-offered just a few weeks ago. “I like the new coaching staff a lot,” he said.
“It was sad to see coach Tyrone Willingham go, but I knew they’d get a great replacement,” Riva said. “I’m happy with the new staff and I think it’ll work out well for the program.”
Riva was especially impressed with new head coach Steve Sarkisian. “He’s really cool,” he said. “He’s a young guy and easy to get along with. He’s just got a lot of passion.
“The whole coaching staff has a lot of energy and I like how they said they’d do a lot of the things they did as USC,” he said. “There’s just a lot of excitement there now.”
The Husky campus is only about 10 minutes from Riva’s house, but he says that distance won’t be a factor. “I don’t have a preference for location,” he said.
“That was really cool,” Riva said of his experience at Washington State’s Junior Day. “They are real down home and hard-working people there. It felt very welcoming and everyone was real friendly. It was also really cool to see all the support that coach Paul Wulff has on campus and around town.”
The only other school that Riva has already visited is Oregon. “They have amazing facilities,” he said. “That really stood out.”
So what does Riva think of the recent news that coach Mike Bellotti is retiring? “It’s gonna be sad to see coach Bellotti go but they’ve got a good staff in place,” he said. “I’m gonna be going to their camp this summer and I’m really excited to talk to the new head coach.”
He says he may also attend the Nebraska camp as well. “I’ve heard a lot of great things about Nebraska,” Riva said. “I just really want to go out there and see what it’s like.
“They have great tradition and I know the academics there are very good too,” he said.
Although it’s not for a camp appearance, Riva says he’ll be visiting UCLA on April 16 for spring practice and says he may also visit Northwestern during his spring break.
“I’ve gotten some things from UCLA but we haven’t talked about a scholarship or anything yet,” he said. “I haven’t talked to the coaches yet so I really want to do that.”
Riva says he’ll be taking his time before making a decision. He doesn't expect to commit soon. “I want to see who else offers and what other options I have,” he said. “I want to find a good academic school and where I’d fit in and be happy even if I wasn’t playing football.
“I definitely don’t plan on making an emotional decision,” he said. “I want to go through the whole process and not commit because of something a coach said or because of a really fun trip.”
Riva says he can bench 315-pounds, squat 450 and has a 25-inch vertical jump. “I’m very versatile and athletic,” he said. “I’m not just some huge fat guy that can’t move. I’m kind of like Joe Thomas because I’m athletic and can move. I’m a great pass blocker and can pull too.”
Riva says he works out four days a week and is committed to improving his game. “I’m always working on getting my footwork better and improving my quickness,” he said.
Riva says he plans on majoring in Business Accounting and reports a 3.1 core GPA. He took the SAT on March 14 and is awaiting his results.