Riley Moss Comfortable with Returning to Iowa

No one questioned his decision to return to Iowa for another football season. At least not face-to-face.

“I could tell some people were thinking, “What the hell is he doing?’ ” Riley Moss said. “But at the end of the day I think they were happy I came back. I’m happy I came back, too.”

Moss could have said goodbye to a tremendous four-year career, covering 48 games, 25 starts at cornerback, 10 interceptions and 239 interception career yards, which ranks second in program history.

He could have taken his 2021 Tatum-Woodson Big Ten Defensive Back of the Year Award and chased his dream of the NFL. It looked like that was the direction he was headed when he accepted an invitation to play in the Reese’s Senior Bowl.

So his January decision to return to the Hawkeye secondary for one last run was more than a little surprising.

“I definitely want to play in the NFL,” Moss said. “But the NFL will always be there.”

Playing for his dream school one more season was too much for Riley to pass up.

“Just my love of football, and my love for the University of Iowa and the football program here,” Moss said. “The coaches, the people, I mean, they make it what it is. It’s really a special place for people who make it. The way I looked at it, I only had five years of my life to play football at Iowa.”

Each new recruiting class ultimately tells the same story.. Some players sign, then never make it to the field. It takes determination, desire, health and a few good breaks. Guarantees are not included.

Moss, a star at Ankeny Centennial, looked to be headed to North Dakota State. No Power Five program offered him a full-ride scholarship. He picked the Bison over North Dakota, Northern Illinois and South Dakota State.

And then things changed. Moss attended Iowa’s 24-15 loss to Purdue in November of 2017. After the game, defensive coordinator Phil Parker brought Moss into his office. We have no scholarships available, Parker told him. All we can do is offer a grayshirt, which meant Moss would pay for school the next summer and fall, then be put on ride.

Moss didn’t hesitate. He accepted. An Iowa fan, playing for his dream school was too much to pass up. He became a Hawkeye fan because of his dad, Mark, an elementary school principal in Ankeny.

“My dad’s been an Iowa fan forever,” Riley said. “He had season tickets, and he started bring me to games when I could walk. It was always the dream (to play there). We always tailgated in the Finkbine Commuter Lot.”

Moss did pay for his own schooling in the summer of 2018, but was put on scholarship that fall.

His dream-school experience got off to a rocky start, however.

“The first year of camp, I didn’t realize how much of a grind it was,” Moss said. “I was struggling a little bit. But I’ve learned through football and the people here that you can make your own experience, and your days here how you want them to go. It’s all about your attitude and how you go about things.”

Riley took those lessons to heart. Talk to Moss for 5 minutes now and that first-year self doubt has been replaced by positive energy.

“If you wake up in the morning with a smile on your face and ready to go, you’re going to have a great day,” he said. There is no one that can change that. You’re in control of your own life and your own attitude. It just depends on how you wake up and go about your day. I figure if I’m waking up, I might as well make it a good day. Stuff happens and you can have a bad day. But look at it as a growing moment and have a smile on your face.”

Positive energy, and a chip on his shoulder, have driven Moss to an outstanding career. A lot of high school buddies told him he’d never be able to play cornerback at Iowa. He played safety at Centennial.

Moss said that doubt was silenced in 2019, when he broke into Iowa’s starting lineup at cornerback.

“I’m going to hear that a lot next year (in the NFL),” he speculated. “It’s been my life since I started playing football. I kind of like it. It's the underdog mentality. I’m prepared for it, and used to it.”

His positive energy helped him get through a knee injury that cost him three games last season.

“I just powered through it and did my part for the team,” he said.

When his football career as a player ends, Moss would like to become a coach.

“Hopefully, one day I can get into coaching and it’s going to be the same things I was taught here,” Riley said.

Parker will tell you that Moss has already got his coaching career off the ground.

“It’s good to have somebody out there who understands what he needs to do and takes care of it,” Parker said. “He knows what it takes. And he’s pushing the other guys who are behind him, and coaching them, just like someone did for him when he was young. It’s been a great advantage for us, and me, that he’s coaching some other guys. It’s like having coaches in the room.”

Moss thinks back to his rookie season, when Jake Gervase took him under his wing and showed him the way.

“And now I'm able to do the same things for some of the younger guys,” Moss said. “The full circle effect.”

Moss could leave Iowa as a five-year letterman in football.

“That’s pretty cool,” Riley said. “Pretty rare.”

He would join former cornerback Matt Hankins as the only five-year lettermen in program history.

That would be part of his legacy. So, too, will the way people remember him when he’s done at Iowa.

“I want to be looked at as not just a good player on the field, the accolades and all that, but I want to come out of here known as a great teammate, a great person, a great student,” said Moss, a sports and recreation management major. “I think football is important, and that’s cool. But one of the best parts of my career here are the people I’ve met and the relationships I’ve built.”