“It was a great play.”
Richardson rushed for 298 yards that night, on his way to a school-record 1,906. Two weeks earlier, Richardson ran for 174 yards and two of his 15 touchdowns in a victory over Wilson. He left a lasting impression on Bruins coach Mario Morales.
“He’s explosive,” Morales said of Richardson, who had a long of 69 yards against Wilson. “The thing about him is he’s got that gear. He squares his shoulders and he’s so explosive. He can be gone in the blink of an eye, with his speed.”
Richardson averaged 173.3 yards per game and 6.91 per carry in his first season as the starter, but he is not fielding a grip of Division I college scholarship offers. He’s listed at 5-foot-7 and 155 pounds, and he knows that’s why.
“Well, I wouldn’t disagree with them because like, size matters,” he said.
What he meant was, size matters to Division I college recruiters.
“I’m a little guy, but I have a big heart and I know I work hard,” Richardson said. “I just have to get bigger and hope the recruiting comes to me. I did well at the Nike camp and showed them size doesn’t matter.
“But Division I recruiters look for that and I have to give them that.”
Richardson said he is putting in extensive time in the weight room.
“If I try like I should, I should be able to get another 15 to 20 pounds,” he said. “Eat right and do the right things and then just work hard on the field and in the weight room.”
If Richardson can achieve that goal, he could be quite a catch because aside from his breathtaking combination of speed and moves, he is one aware running back.
“Great quickness, great vision,” Barnes said. “I’ve never seen a kid who sees the field ahead of him (as well as) he does. He’s not powerful, but he can break a tackle. But he usually doesn’t because he can juke and has great quickness. He sees the hole, and he’s not afraid to put his nose in the hole.”
Richardson smiled when asked about what goes on in his mind when he is out there wreaking havoc on defenders.
“It is kind of like an adrenaline rush,” he said. “Football is like my main subject, like my `A’ sport. Once I juke a guy out, it’s a quick-thinking process, what I’m going to do next. Am I going to go left, am I going to go right?
“And I’ll just pretend like I’m getting chased by a bunch of rottweilers, just dogs coming at me.”
Not many catch him.
Apparently, recruiters aren’t yet trying to. Another 2009-
like campaign could make a Division I program take a chance.
“If he has another year like last year, somebody will,” Barnes said. “He’s a special player.”
Morales echoed that sentiment.
“I think it would depend on who’s recruiting him,” Morales said.
“Personally, I think I would take a chance. … If there is a coach out there willing to take a chance on him, he will do well.”
That’s all Richardson wants, is the opportunity to show that a smaller guy with incredible skills can hang with the big boys.
“I really don’t know what I would say (to recruiters), but I would promise them that if they recruit me, I would work hard, like I do,” he said. “I wouldn’t let them down, I wouldn’t be a bad choice and I would just work hard, redshirt, be in the weight room, play any position they need me to.
“If they need me to play slot (where he’ll line up sometimes for the Griffins), I’ll play slot. Corner, I’ll play corner. Anything. It doesn’t just have to be running back. I’m athletic. I can play multiple things, special teams. I would just tell them I would play hard. I get knocked down, get right back up.”
Any takers?
