Riggs warming up to Notre Dame football

SOUTH BEND — Cody Riggs stepped out of an academic meeting Monday afternoon on the Notre Dame campus and into blizzard-like conditions.

Just the second time in the life of the impending University of Florida transfer he has ever seen any kind of snow in person, let alone something that resembled the inside of a snow globe, Riggs turned to his uncle, former ND football standout wide receiver Bobby Brown, shrugged and said, “No big deal.”

The rest of the recruiting visit, according to Brown, was a big deal — in a good way. And Riggs likely will make a final decision Tuesday as to whether he’ll spend his final season of college eligibility at Notre Dame.

Because the 5-foot-9, 190-pound defensive back will have his degree when he shows up at his new school, Riggs would be a grad school-style transfer and wouldn’t be subject to the NCAA’s normal one-year sitting-out period.

The south Florida product flew into Chicago with his stepfather, Alex Armenteros, on Sunday, while Brown came in from northern New Jersey, where he works as an attorney.

The three spent time with former Irish standouts Tony Rice, Bobbie Howard and Kinnon Tatum Sunday night before arriving in South Bend around 8 a.m., on Monday.

Brown said Riggs had a chance to interact with ND’s assistant coaches and players, as well as academic personnel. Riggs has maintained from the start his transfer is academic-driven. Irish head coach Brian Kelly was out of town on Monday.

Brown said the two had a chance to speak on the phone and plan to do so again on Tuesday. After taking in ND’s training table with the Irish players, Brown and Riggs finished the long day on campus by attending the second half of the second-ranked Notre Dame women’s basketball team’s rout of Georgia Tech.

Riggs started all 12 games last season at safety for Florida, which labored to a 4-8 record overall but was outstanding on defense.

The Gators ranked eighth nationally in both pass-efficiency defense and total defense in 2013.

Riggs missed most of the 2012 season with a fractured foot and received a medical redshirt year from the NCAA. In 2010 and 2011, he was a cornerback for the Gators, and that’s the position he’d likely play at ND if he ends up in South Bend. Florida ranked eighth in pass-efficiency defense in 2011 and ninth in 2010.

If Riggs does transfer to Notre Dame, he would enroll in school and begin working out with the team in June.

EHansen@SBTinfo.com

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Twitter: @hansenNDInsider