09/25/2026
He’s Him!!! Congratulations Jordan Riley
CMFL TOP 50 OF 2026: #44 JORDAN RILEY
By Coach C | SemiPro GameDay
Double-team him.
For real....
Double-team this man.
Because if you leave Jordan Riley one-on-one with an offensive lineman, you might as well start planning for 2nd-and-long.
And sometimes, even two blockers aren't enough.
Coming in at #44 on the player-voted Central Midwest Football League Top 50 of 2026 is Wichita Skyhawks defensive tackle Jordan Riley, a 2026 Second Team All-CMFL selection and one of the most physically dominant interior defensive linemen I've watched at this level.
But here's the other part of the story:
Riley wasn't out there alone.
He was one of the anchors of a Wichita Skyhawks defense that developed an identity of its own.
I call them.... The Goons.
And that name fit.
Physical.
Aggressive.
Relentless with bad intentions.
The kind of defense that wanted to turn every possession into a fight.
Football is rarely about one man, especially on defense.
But a dominant defensive tackle becomes even more dangerous when the players around him are handling their responsibilities.
That's what made Wichita's defensive front difficult to deal with.
If an offense committed extra attention to Riley, somebody else had an opportunity.
If they tried blocking him straight up, Riley could become the problem himself.
Pick your poison.
Riley provided the interior power that helped make that identity work.
He could destroy a running lane.
Collapse the pocket.
Occupy multiple blockers.
Or create enough chaos for another Skyhawk defender to finish the job.
That's team defense.
And that's where Riley's impact went beyond his own stat line.
🎥The Tape Didn't Do Him Justice
I had seen Riley on film before.
I knew he was good.
Then I watched The Goons in person against the Joplin Crusaders.
That's when I understood on a whole other level.
Joplin brought one of the league's more high-powered offenses into that matchup.
Wichita's defense came ready for a fight.
And right in the middle of it was Riley, who was doing people how Deebo did Red on Friday.
Joplin tried dealing with him one-on-one.
Problem.
They sent extra attention his direction.
Nope. Still a problem.
That created opportunities elsewhere.
And throughout the afternoon, Wichita's defense continued working together to disrupt what Joplin wanted to accomplish.
Riley's presence in the middle was a major part of it, but the beauty of the performance was watching how the pieces worked together.
Early in the first half, Wichita provided perhaps the best example of that team effort.
Riley exploded into the play and delivered a massive hit.
Ball out.
His job was done.
Then another member of The Goons finished it.
A Wichita teammate recovered the loose football and took it to the house.
Touchdown Skyhawks.
Riley created the turnover.
His teammate turned it into six.
That's defensive football at its best.
It also illustrated why focusing entirely on individual statistics can miss what makes an interior defensive lineman so valuable.
Riley didn't cross the goal line.
But there is no touchdown without the havoc he created first.
Riley possesses the strength to command that type of attention while still remaining disruptive himself.
He's an elite run stuffer with enough explosion to become a legitimate interior pass-rushing threat.
But his job isn't always to make the tackle.
Sometimes it's destroying the blocking scheme.
Sometimes it's forcing the running back off his intended path.
Sometimes it's collapsing the pocket.
And sometimes it's occupying enough manpower that one of his boys gets to eat.
That's why defensive football is ultimately about the unit.
And in this case, Riley is the straw that stirs the drink.
⭐️He Belonged in the Conversation
At one point during the 2026 season, I remember having a conversation about who the best defensive tackle in the CMFL was.
There were several deserving names.
Looking back, one thing is clear:
Jordan Riley absolutely belonged in that conversation.
His Second Team All-CMFL selection showed that his performance earned recognition around the league.
But seeing him in person provided a different appreciation for what Riley brought to Wichita.
He wasn't simply collecting tackles.
He was helping dictate what offenses could do.
And within a defense that prided itself on physicality, Riley was one of the players setting the tone.
Elite against the run.
Explosive rushing the passer.
Strong enough to command double teams.
Disruptive enough to create opportunities for everybody around him.
And despite everything he can do on a football field, Riley remains an incredibly humble young man who doesn't need to tell anybody how good he is.
He doesn't have to.
His teammates know.
Opposing offensive linemen definitely know.
And anybody who spent an afternoon watching The Skyhawks go to work knows too.
And now, you all know.
Because Jordan Riley wasn't simply a dominant defensive tackle playing his own game.
He was The Goon amongst Goons.
Wichita Skyhawks defensive tackle Jordan Riley is the #44 player in the player-voted CMFL Top 50 of 2026.
43 players remain.
The countdown continues.
