Blue & Gold Illustrated: America's Foremost Authority on Notre Dame Football
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IRISH IN THE PROS BY ANDREW OWENS D uring his four-year Notre Dame career, Theo Riddick moved from running back to wide receiver before ultimately finishing his time in an Irish uniform at running back, where he helped the program reach the BCS Na- tional Championship Game. Now, that versatility is paying off in the NFL. Riddick has emerged as one of the league's premier pass-catching run- ning backs, with his 36 receptions (for 318 yards and two scores) through the first seven games ranking atop the list at his position. "He has shown that obviously he has some real proficiency in some ar- eas where he can catch the ball out of the backfield," Lions head coach Jim Caldwell told reporters. "He's a good route runner, he's real solid in terms of his assignments and things of that nature. "But I still think he's growing and developing, and you can see just his ability to run inside and out keeps growing and developing. I think that certainly has created some trust be- cause he's highly productive for us." Riddick has yet to gain much trac- tion on the ground for the organi- zation, logging just 12 carries for 46 yards, even with fellow backs Joique Bell and Ameer Abdullah battling through injuries and rookie struggles, respectively. But on a 1-6 team that has major issues along the offensive line, Riddick has become an important Theo Riddick Catches On In Detroit Riddick reeled in 36 receptions — the most among all NFL running backs — for 318 yards and two touch- downs in the Lions' first seven games this season. PHOTO COURTESY DETROIT LIONS