John Raridon, a 6-foot-3, 270-pound guard for the West Des Moines Valley High School football team, made his decision early. Raridon, the grandson of Newton’s Dale Raridon, is just a junior at Valley High, but he committed to Nebraska during a visit to Lincoln earlier this season.
Raridon is currently a four-star prospect ranked as the No. 3 guard and No. 177 overall prospect in the nation for 2016. He committed to Nebraska over offers from Illinois, Iowa, Iowa State, Kansas State, Oklahoma, and Wisconsin.
Raridon and the Valley Tigers are in the middle of Class 4A playoffs. Valley plays Waukee Friday in the quarterfinals. He was the first Tiger to start on the offensive line for Swenson as a freshman, earned elite all-state honors as a sophomore and he’s the fourth member of his family to earn a Division-I scholarship.
Raidon is following in his father’s footsteps. Scott Raridon Sr. was an All-American offensive lineman for Nebraska after winning an Iowa high school state title in 1978 at Mason City High under Barry Alvarez, the current UW athletic director and the school’s former football coach. He later played for the Philadelphia Eagles and also spent time as a strength and conditioning coach at Notre Dame, where his son, Scott Jr., played.
Raridon’s other brother, Sam, earned a scholarship to play at Wisconsin. Raridon’s mother, Traci, threw shot put for the Wisconsin women’s track and field team. All three brothers played on the offensive line for Valley High School.
Contact Jocelyn Sheets at 641-792-3121 ext. 6535 or jsheets@newtondailynews.com.