Blue & Gold Illustrated: America's Foremost Authority on Notre Dame Football
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BY DOUGLAS FARMER B obby Brown went to St. Thomas Aquinas High School in Fort Lauderdale, Fla. While there, he set the school record in the long jump. Then he went to Notre Dame, where he started for three years at wide receiver (1997‑99). He has a nephew he describes as a "little brother." Cody Riggs went to St. Thomas Aquinas and set a school record in the long jump while there. Then he went to Florida, contributing as a freshman before starting for two sea‑ sons in the defensive backfield. He has an uncle he refers to as his "big brother." Riggs didn't choose to transfer to Notre Dame for his fifth year of eligi‑ bility simply to further the parallels between himself and his youngest uncle, Brown, but that benefit did not hurt the cause. Rather, he transferred to find a fit where he knew he could contribute and thrive from day one. Brown recognized how such an op‑ portunity awaited in South Bend. "I felt like there was a potential op‑ portunity at the position, and then I thought the icing on the cake would be him having an opportunity to re‑ turn punts," Brown said. "But I'm biased. I've been biased for awhile." There certainly was an opportunity for Riggs — an even clearer one once the ongoing academic dishonesty in‑ vestigation held junior cornerback KeiVarae Russell out of practice and competition — in the Irish secondary, but first he had to learn defensive coordinator Brian VanGorder 's ag‑ gressive defensive scheme. The blitz‑ heavy attacks rely on the defensive backfield to maintain one‑on‑one coverage. If it can't, the extra defend‑ ers headed toward the quarterback leave vast swatches of grass open for the opposing quarterback and receiv‑ ers to connect. To learn the scheme as quickly as possible, Riggs turned to a younger LIKE UNCLE, LIKE NEPHEW Cody Riggs finally followed Bobby Brown to Notre Dame, and is making the most of his time with the Irish