Gators’ Rioux, all 7-foot-9 of him, tries football

Jul 24, 2025, 10:13 PM ET GAINESVILLE, Fla.– The world’s highest teenager is trying his hand– his reach, truly– at football.Florida basketball player Olivier Rioux, a 7-foot-9 center who bet the Under-19 Canadian nationwide team this summer, just recently exercised for the Gators’football team.Rioux put on an orange helmet and took snaps on unique groups, with Florida assistant coaches hoping his huge wingspan might be a distinction maker when it concerns obstructing basket and additional points.Editor’s Picks 1 Related”I like the idea,”Gators basketball coach Todd Golden said during a booster occasion Thursday night.”I provide credit for trying it.

” There was one

problem: The 305-pound Rioux has an 11-inch vertical, so even with his extra-long reach, he was not able to obstruct any kicks during the exercise.”

They were a little dissatisfied,”Golden said.No worries. Rioux can simply stay with his full-time gig with the hoops team.After redshirting as a real freshman last season, he’s expected to get on the court in limited capability

this fall. He’s unlikely to play much thinking about the safeguarding national champs return their whole frontcourt, however he ought to at least get on the court in garbage time.Golden already has thought about utilizing him to protect incoming passes, something Rioux did to perfection prior to halftime versus the United States in the FIBA U19 World Cup in Switzerland previously this month.

Rioux required an errant pass that led to a turnover and a 3-pointer just before halftime.Rioux’s uncommon height landed him in the Guinness World Records a few years earlier, and he has ended up being a strolling viral video at Florida. While coaches and teammates climbed up a ladder to cut pieces of the internet after the Gators won the

SEC tournament, Rioux had the ability to do it while standing flat-footed.