Defensive back Quincy Riley came to Louisville via the NCAA’s transfer portal, and he did so with a track record of creating disruption. Over the course of his last 15 games at Middle Tennessee, Riley had seven interceptions and 15 pass breakups.

Riley’s ability to create turnovers has continued during fall camp.

“His body of work since training camp…he's a ball magnet,” said UofL co-defensive coordinator and secondary coach Wesley McGriff. “One day he had three turnovers in practice, three takeaways, if you will. They were all earned because he’s taking the ball away. He's always around the football. He had three fumble recoveries on another day. So, he has a lot of ball production.

“The best quality he has, and he has a lot of good traits, but man, he never panics. I mean he always is clam. He can fix it when things go wrong…there's no panic in his play. And he's really good at locating the the ball. And, so we're looking for him to play at a high level.”

Riley credits his experience playing on both sides of the ball in prepping him to be such a ball hawk.

“I was always an offensive player, so I know where the ball is going to go,” Riley said. “Really, it’s just knowing ball, ball, ball, ball…that’s what people want on their defense, ball hawks. Just got to create turnovers, so somehow, someway, I’ve got to get to the ball.”

A native of Columbia, S.C., Riley appeared in 18 games at Middle Tennessee, making 12 starts. He was an All-Conference USA choice last season after finishing No. 5 nationally in interceptions. He also collected Conference USA All-Freshman honors in 2020.

During fall camp, Riley has worked at multiple spots in the secondary.

“You can slide him into multiple spots,” UofL defensive coordinator Bryan Brown said. “He’s a ball hawk back there in the secondary.”

Following his commitment to Louisville in April, Riley told Cardinal Authority that he’s looking forward to proving he can excel at the Power 5 level.

“First, I want to prove that I can play at this level,” Riley said. “I want to have the most picks in college football and make All-Conference and All-American. My plan is going just one more year.”

Riley checked in at No. 9 in the Cardinal Authority player countdown.

© 2005-2022 CBS INTERACTIVE ALL RIGHTS RESERVED. CBS Sports is a registered trademark of CBS Broadcasting Inc.