Calvin Ridley, a two-time champion of the College Football Playoff National Championship (CFPNC), is a professional American soccer player who has been on the Atlanta Falcons’ roster since 2018 when he joined the Atlanta-based soccer team.
Although the footballer is new to the National Football League (NFL), he has had an impressive career that includes his outstanding high school and college achievements, highlights, and awards, including – two-time SEC Champion (2015, 2016), First Team All-SEC (2017), USA Today Freshman All-America (2015), Second Team All-SEC (2016) and two-time CFP National Champion (2015, 2017).
Calvin Ridley Age and Early Life
The Falcons’ wide receiver is the son of Colin Ridley (father) and Kassna Daniels (mother). He was born on December 20, 1994, in Coconut Creek, Florida. The NFL player, born Calvin Orin Ridley, has a younger brother named Riley Ridley, who is also a soccer player.
It is said that her father was deported to Guyana when the soccer player was seven years old and he has not seen him since. Calvin and his brother spent several years in an Austrian-based international children’s foster home in Coconut Creek, along with their cousin Shawn Burgess-Becker, who grew up loving and played soccer with the brothers.
Later the trio was adopted in 2011 by a man named Tom Becker and his wife Melanie Becker. Tom met the Ridley brothers in 2010 during a 7 versus 7 tournaments, after which they moved into his apartment the following year. Melanie Becker is a teacher at Lion’s Creek Middle School in Coconut Creek.
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Calvin Ridley studied at Monarch High School in Coconut Creek, Florida, together with his cousin Burgess-Becker. In his senior year at Monarch, he played only three games due to Florida’s age restriction rules that exclude players over 19 and 9 months. Upon graduation, Calvin was considered the best receiver in his class and was also listed as a five-star recruit.
Ridley’s cousin signed with Alabama in 2015 and was later transferred to UCF the following year. Burgess-Becker has a brother named Pasqual. He used to play football in Division II West Florida in Pensacola.
Born in Coconut Creek, Wide Receiver (Calvin Ridley) received his college education at the University of Alabama, where he played soccer and in his junior year had over 1,000 yards of receiving, three receptions over 22 yards, and seven touchdown receptions. The Wide Receiver announced on January 10, 2018, that he would give up his senior year at the University of Alabama to join the 2018 NFL Draft.
He currently represents the Atlanta Falcons football franchise in the NFL, having been selected by the team to be the 26th player in the first round of the 2018 NFL Draft. On July 5, 2018, he signed a four-year contract with the team valued at $10.9 million. As his profile shows, the contract included a signing bonus of $6.1 million.
Who is Calvin Ridley Brother?
Calvin’s younger brother is named Riley Ridley. He was born on July 22, 1996, and currently represents the Georgia Bulldogs soccer team in the NFL. During his childhood, when Calvin Ridley was probably about 8 or 9 years old, his younger brother, who was 16 months younger than him, defeated him in a 20-yard race, and Calvin was not happy about that defeat.
Since the brothers became known in the football community, they have played together as a team twice – their first game together was at Monarch High School in Coconut Creek, Florida, while their second game was as members of the Florida Fire 7-on-7 team.
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In their up-and-coming years, Riley and Calvin often dreamed of meeting themselves on the field in the NFL or in college. The duo finally seized the opportunity in early 2018 when they played against each other on a much larger stage at the College Football Playoff National Championship at the Mercedes-Benz Stadium.
The game was watched by their mother and family members, who watched the brothers settle their score as Calvins Alabama defeated Rileys Georgia. At the end of the national championship in college football, the siblings met on the field and swapped jerseys.
Riley Ridley represents the Georgia Bulldogs soccer team as a wide receiver and has the chance to join his brother in the NFL after graduation.
Body Measurements: Height & Weight
Ridley’s physique is considered a major factor in his successful career in the American Football League. The size of the Falcons’ No. 18 jerseys is measured at 6 feet 1 inch, which is 1.85 in the metric unit, while his body weight is estimated at 86 kilograms or 190 pounds.