Dec. 5 -- MITCHELL -- Riley Reiff has changed his routine on Sundays now that he's back in South Dakota.
The former Parkston High School standout who later starred with the University of Iowa and Minnesota Vikings was a special guest of the Mitchell Quarterback Club on Wednesday at Bradley's Pub and Grille, reminiscing about his playing days and what he's been up to since taking his last snap on the field with the New England Patriots.
These days, Reiff, who turned 36 on Dec. 1, has swapped Sundays on the gridiron suiting up to be a key cog in the offensive line to outings either fishing or hunting, depending on the seasons. He's also enjoying raising his three-year-old son outside of Pickstown, near the Missouri River.
"It's fun just being a dad," Reiff said. "It's a lot of work, but it's awesome. I have to thank my parents because I didn't realize how hard kids were to raise, and they did a great job raising me and my siblings."
Reiff has settled back into the state following a standout career. In high school, he was twice been named an all-state football player and was the South Dakota Gatorade Player of the Year in 2007 as a senior. As a Hawkeye, he moved from the defensive line to the offensive line, starting 37 of 39 games played during his three years, and twice being named to the all-Big Ten Conference teams and was a 2011 collegiate All-American.
Selected 23rd overall by the Detroit Lions in the 2012 NFL Draft, Reiff spent 12 years predominately at left tackle with the Lions and Vikings, also having one-year stints with the Cincinnati Bengals, Chicago Bears and last season with the Patriots, playing in 164 games (149 starts) and taking nearly 10,000 snaps on both offense and special teams.
At 164 games played, Reiff played the third-most games of any NFL player born in South Dakota.
According to pro-football-reference.com
, only kicker Adam Vinatieri (365, born in Yankton) and defensive tackle John Dutton (185, born in Rapid City) have played more games in the NFL. Philadelphia Eagles tight end Dallas Goedert, a native of Britton, is the active leader from South Dakota with 92 games played.
Regarding his 2023 season with New England, where knee injuries limited him to a lone appearance against his childhood favorite team in the now-Las Vegas Raiders, he spoke highly of former head coach Bill Belichick regarding the way he dissected a game plan and for the level he expected out of the players.
"You'd think he'd break a game down with a complicated formula," Reiff said. "He breaks it down in ways people understand and is the smartest coach. He's hard to play for too. I took every rep with the scout team and regular team."
A product of a different era of recruiting as well as interacting with teammates and coaches, Reiff's simple advice to those starting out in their careers was what he received during his college years.
"I would text a kid and say, 'Hey, let's go watch film,' or something, and I won't even get a text back," Reiff said. "Be dependable and work hard. In life, you never regret working hard for something."
Reiff still keeps tabs on his old teammates and friends from the league who are also offensive linemen and will root for players he's encountered during his time on the sidelines and on the field. Having settled in the Wagner School District, he'll likely don the once-rival Red Raiders colors at some point in the future to support his son.
As for a future role in football at some capacity, Reiff wouldn't completely rule it out, but admits it'd likely be at the youth or high school level due to the additional challenges and turnover at the higher levels.
"There's too much changeover in the NFL," Reiff said, "And then you're moving your family and packing up. I've done that for 12 years and I don't want to do that anymore."