Rivaldo Fairweather goes in-depth on transitioning from basketball to football, choosing Auburn and more

AUBURN — From the time Rivaldo Fairweather entered the NCAA Transfer Portal to the time he committed to Auburn was a very quick process.

On November 29 of last year, Fairweather entered the transfer portal. One week later, he received an Auburn offer. Two days after that, new tight ends coach Ben Aigamaua made an in-home visit. And 11 days after that, Fairweather was committed to Hugh Freeze and Auburn.

“The transfer portal is crazy,” Fairweather said. “The second you’re eligible in the portal, stuff happens quick. As soon as your name is in there, it’s crazy how many calls you’ll get.”

Now on campus and fully integrated into the Auburn program and culture being built by Freeze and Co., Fairweather is happier than ever about his decision.

“It’s better than what I thought it was,” Fairweather said. “I’ve never been a part of a program this big. I trusted Coach Freeze and I played against Coach Freeze when I was at FIU. They’ve seen me and they wanted me. I trusted his process that he’ll flip the script here at Auburn.”

Standing 6-foot-4 and 250-plus pounds, it’s easy to understand why Fairweather brings so much potential with him to Auburn. And his 838 yards receiving and five touchdowns in three seasons at FIU prove he can produce. Aigamaua sure didn’t hold back when speaking about Fairweather earlier this spring.

“He is an athletically gifted athlete, he can run. I think the ceiling is still high,” Aigamaua said earlier this spring. “The techniques still need to get crisp in the things we do, but man he has been impressive out there. “You know, he brings the stretching the field aspect of it, he is running by folks out there. And to see that, he’s going to be a mismatch problem. In the passing game he has really good hands. He caught a dig route over the middle and it was—to have a big body like that come across the middle, it helps with our quarterback’s trust that he can make those catches.”

Fairweather adds to that, saying he’ll do whatever it takes to win.

“I bring athletic playmaker, team player, someone that wants to win, no matter what it takes,” he said. “If it’s blocking all game, I’ll do that. If they want me to catch passes, that’s what I’m good at. I’m a team player and someone that wants to win, someone that wants to flip the script at Auburn.”

Part of the reason why Fairweather chose Auburn was Freeze’s past success with tight ends like Evan Engram and Dawson Knox at Ole Miss. Engram, specifically, was first-team All-SEC, recorded over 2,000 yards receiving and 15 touchdowns during his college career, and was a first-round NFL draft pick by the New York Giants.

“That was a big thing,” he said. “That played a big part of it.”

The Auburn tight end room is loaded with capable, experienced players like Luke Deal, Brandon Frazier and Tyler Fromm, plus talented youngster Micah Riley-Ducker. Fairweather said the tight end room is “fun,” with plenty of jokes and camaraderie early in spring camp.

Meanwhile, offensive installation still has a long way to go. That’s no secret, with Freeze even saying earlier this week that installation has stalled some due to the lack of desired production from the quarterback position. Fairweather knows the coaches will have a good game plan for the redzone, and “I know I’ll be included in it.”

And as spring camp rolls on, and Fairweather enters his sixth year of playing football, the sky remains the limit.

“I’ve continued working on my craft like every offseason and better myself in everything I can be good at. It’s been boosting up every year I’ve been in college,” Fairweather. “(My skills) have grown tremendously.”

Rivaldo Fairweather’s transition from basketball to football

Rivaldo Fairweather didn’t start playing football until his junior year at Boyd Anderson High School in Lauderhill, Florida. Growing up, it was all about basketball for Fairweather. That makes sense. Fairweather’s height and size made him formidable.

“That’s all my game was, being physical,” he said. “I like LeBron, so I take it to the rack every time.”

But his high school basketball coaches had other ideas.

“My basketball coach used to tell me, because I was the biggest and fastest on the court and I used to get fouled out a lot, so my coaches told me, ‘you should try to play football.’ I used to play around with football, but I didn’t take it serious,” Fairweather said. “When I locked in on playing football and focused on perfecting everybody, my trainers really helped me with that.

“I’m a late bloomer with football. I’m a fast learner with football. Every year I learn different stuff. I take it in and study, and I’ll take my game to the next level. Everything the coaches tell me, I take it with open ears. I’m coachable. I feel like that’s a positive for me that I’m a late bloomer in football.”

Fairweather said the physicality was the hardest part of the transition from basketball to football, but it wasn’t all that hard. Growing up with two younger sisters, and older sister and an older brother, Ronaldo, Fairweather endured his share of fights around the house.

“I came from a tough home,” Fairweather said.

Ronaldo, specifically, helped toughen Fairweather up. And yes, Ronaldo and Rivaldo are names of famous Brazilian soccer players. The brothers’ father was a soccer fanatic, so thus the Brazilian soccer names for his sons.

“My older brother really pushed me to become the man I am today,” he said.

Fairweather does plan to bring one element of his basketball game to the football field: dunking. How will he pull that off?

Fairweather has plans, and while Freeze encourages celebrations and his players ability to express themselves on the football field, Fairweather’s plans might not receive Freeze’s official stamp of approval.

“I’m actually going to do that this year,” Fairweather said of dunking over the goal post after a touchdown. “I’ve never done it before. When I score, I’m always emotional and I express myself a lot. I’m going to have to do it. I might go between the legs just for y’all.”

Friendship with Camden Brown

Talented sophomore receiver Camden Brown played high school football at St. Thomas Aquinas, so he and Rivaldo Fairweather have a previous relationship going back to their high school days. Reuniting at Auburn has been fun for the duo.

Brown drew praise from Freeze and players for his performance last Friday during the first scrimmage of the spring. Brown caught a touchdown during the situational work. Combining Brown’s 6-foot-3 frame and Fairweather’s nearly 6-foot-5 frame has Fairweather excited to say the least.

“That’s my boy right there,” Fairweather said. “It’s going to be crazy. I knew him before because he played as St. Thomas Aquinas, so I was chopping it up with him before I cam there. We’re going to be a good duo. I tell teams to stay tuned for that.”