NATCHEZ &8212; While his college playing career may have ended in an unfamiliar place and with unfamiliar production, former Trinity Episcopal star Chad Ridley still has his sights set on the ultimate goal &8212; professional football.

After transferring from Delta State University in Cleveland to Central Missouri State University after the 2005 season, Ridley found himself 603 miles from home and unable to crack the starting lineup.

He caught six passes on the year for 129 yards and two touchdowns and rushed three times for 27 yards during the Mules&8217; 5-6 campaign, a far cry from the gaudy numbers he had become accustomed to, but Ridley has taken the setback in stride.

&8220;Coming into this program, I think me and the coach had different goals for what I would bring to the team,&8221; Ridley said. &8220;I was coming in planning to be that go-to, every down receiver, but I was used more for spot play. There&8217;s pretty good competition up here. I found out that coach isn&8217;t a guy that&8217;s going to have someone come in and just give him the spot over his players. All in all it was a pretty fair assessment.&8221;

With his collegiate eligibility exhausted, Ridley does have several options to fall back on.

&8220;I&8217;m on track to graduate next fall,&8221; he said. &8220;I&8217;ve been taking it easy now trying to finish out school. Exam week starts this week, and then I&8217;ll head back home and get back into training when tryouts for the Arena League and the Canadian League start. I&8217;ll come back next semester and work for when the NFL combines starting later in the spring.

&8220;I&8217;d love to play football at the next level. I think that&8217;s every kid&8217;s dream, to play in the NFL. The NFL is the goal, but (getting to) the next level is the main goal. I want to play football as long as I can. If that means it&8217;s over now, that&8217;s fine. I just want a fair shot. I&8217;ll try my best and hopefully, I&8217;ll catch the eye of somebody. If that doesn&8217;t work out I&8217;ll graduate in the fall and I can go to the real world.&8221;

While Ridley has been playing college ball over the last four years, his younger brother, Stevan, has been rewriting the record books for his alma mater, including winning another state title to go along with the one he helped Trinity win in 2001. He said he has followed his brother&8217;s career from afar.

&8220;I called him and talked to him a lot,&8221; he said. &8220;He would call me before every game. I didn&8217;t get to see him play live. I&8217;m always in football season while he&8217;s in football season. I&8217;m proud of his accomplishments. This summer, I trained a lot with him. He and that entire group worked hard. That was a well-deserved win.&8221;

Chad said there were significant differences between him and his brother at the same point in their careers.

&8220;Steve&8217;s a much better athlete,&8221; he said. &8220;I wouldn&8217;t say he&8217;s faster, but he&8217;s so much bigger and smarter, as far as knowing the game. He&8217;s so much more developed as a player as a senior than I was. I was sort of out there running on raw talent, but he&8217;s received a lot more coaching, not just from David King but from others as well.&8221;

As Chad Ridley prepares to find out his football future, he said he hopes that future can eventually include his little brother.

&8220;My ultimate dream is to play in the NFL, and hopefully have Stevan up there with me,&8221; he said. &8220;Five years from now my ultimate dream is to be playing in the NFL and seeing if my brother&8217;s getting drafted.&8221;