TUSCALOOSA, Ala. — Trent Richardson could have gone anywhere he wanted to play college football. But as he looks ahead to Saturday’s showdown with LSU, he’s reminded of just why he picked Alabama. “You grow up watching games like this, the Texas-USC game (in 2005), and you imagine what it would be like to play in a game like that,” Richardson said. “As a little boy, you grow up watching all these big-time stars in big-time games, and that’s what you want to be. We’re going to be in that kind of game on Saturday. It’s still a dream and still a shock to me that I’m here doing this. “This is why you come to Alabama.” This obviously isn’t just any week with all the buildup and hype of No. 1 vs. No. 2, but Richardson said there’s a confidence and a tone set by coach Nick Saban that’s infectious. “People don’t like to play for coaches who are uptight. It gets inside your head and messes kids up,” Richardson said. “Coach is always intense and the same way all the time. He just wants to see us succeed out there on the field. It’s not about him. It’s about us, and that’s the type of person I like to play for.” Richardson said the players have actually been reassuring the coaches this week that they’re ready. “In big games like this, we don’t panic and stay calm and try to play our game and play it like we’ve never played it before, like this is our last down we’re going to play,” Richardson said. “You never know. That’s what I try to remind everybody about. You can’t slack off. There are no friends on the field. “The thing with this team is that when we get to the big games, we don’t worry. We’re on the coaches more than they’re on us. We’re like, ‘Hey, coach, we’re ready for this game. Don’t worry about nothing. We’ve got this.’ ”
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Trent Richardson: We’re ready for this
Filed under Football by on Nov 2nd, 2011. Comment. 
1. One by one, the challengers to Alabama junior tailback Trent Richardson for the Doak Walker Running Back Award have been felled by injury. Oregon junior LaMichael James , the 2010 winner, led the nation in rushing when he dislocated his elbow earlier this month. South Carolina sophomore Marcus Lattimore and, as of Wednesday night, Pittsburgh junior Ray Graham have suffered season-ending knee injuries. If Richardson stays healthy, the award is his to lose. Of course, staying healthy has been the problem. 2. Sen. Joe Manchin (D-W.Va.) told Chuck Todd on MSNBC’s Daily Rundown on Wednesday that West Virginia University “had a done deal” with the Big 12 before politics — ewwww — entered the fray. Manchin suggested that Minority Leader Mitch McConnell (R-Ky.) may have intervened with the conference on behalf of Louisville. To counter the use of politics, Manchin suggested a Senate hearing. I’m guessing the irony went completely over his head. 3. There’s a lot of ways in which history says that No. 8 Oklahoma will beat No. 9 Kansas State, but this is the most interesting: the Sooners, coming off their 41-38 loss to Texas Tech, haven’t lost consecutive games since 2003. According to ESPN Stats & Info, the next longest streak, shared by Boise State, TCU and Oregon, dates to 2007. How unusual is Oklahoma’s streak? Of the 120 FBS teams, 81 have lost at least two straight this season.
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3-point stance: Doak contenders dropping
Filed under Football by on Oct 28th, 2011. Comment.
The top guys stay the same, but we have a few new faces in our SEC Heisman watch this week: 1. Trent Richardson , RB, Alabama: The clear leader in the SEC, Richardson probably needs another monster game on a big stage to get up there nationally with Stanford’s Andrew Luck and Wisconsin’s Russell Wilson . With the way Richardson is running right now and the way his offensive line is playing, you can look for a strong close to the season for him. He’s put together five straight 100-yard rushing games and leads the SEC with 12 touchdowns. Depending on how these next two weeks go, he could already have 1,000 yards going into that LSU game on Nov. 5. 2
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SEC Heisman watch: Week 7
Filed under Football, News by on Oct 11th, 2011. Comment.
We had some major ballers in the SEC this weekend. We wish we could give out more, but we’re allotted five helmet stickers and here they are: Trent Richardson , RB, Alabama: Florida’s goal was to stop the run. Mainly, it wanted to slow down Richardson. Neither happened in Alabama’s rout in Gainesville and Richardson was a main reason for that. He carried the ball 29 times for a career-high 181 yards and had two touchdowns. He also caught two passes for 27 more yards. This was the biggest game of the season thus far and Richardson was back in his home state. He came ready to play and it took more than the first couple of hits from Florida defenders to bring Richardson down. He was just too strong and too agile for the Gators Saturday night. Michael Dyer , RB, Auburn: Before Saturday’s game, Auburn coach Gene Chizik told Dyer that he better be ready to carry the rushing load against South Carolina. Dyer certainly did that by carrying the ball 41 times for 141 yards and a touchdown. He didn’t even miss a snap after suffering what looked like a pretty painful ankle injury in the third quarter. He didn’t look slowed by the injury and was almost tougher to take down at times. Tyler Wilson , QB, Arkansas: We were waiting for Wilson to just go bananas on a defense, and after getting roughed up by Alabama last week, Wilson took all of his frustration out against Texas A&M by passing for a 510 yards, which destroyed Ryan Mallett’s school record of 409 yards he had against Vanderbilt last year. Wilson also had three touchdowns and no interceptions. Behind his arm, the Razorbacks were able to pull an impressive second-half comeback to beat the Aggies inside Cowboys Stadium. Jarius Wright , WR, Arkansas: Wilson looked pretty good Saturday, but so did one of his top targets. Wright caught 13 passes for a school-record 281 yards and had a touchdown. The old record was 204 yards and Wright surpassed that by halftime. Wright was all over the field for the Hogs and made some big-time catches in Arlington. He also recovered a fumble in the end zone for a touchdown and made some huge blocks down field for the Razorbacks. Tyler Bray , QB, Tennessee: The sophomore was without his best receiver in Justin Hunter and was working with a group of young guys along with Da’Rick Rogers . Well, all Bray did was throw for 342 yards and four touchdowns against Buffalo. We weren’t sure what we would see from Bray without Hunter in the lineup, but he and the offense didn’t really miss a beat. Helping him out was Rogers, who caught seven passes for 180 yards and two touchdowns in the Vols’ blowout win.
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SEC helmet stickers: Week 5
Filed under Football by on Oct 2nd, 2011. Comment.
For someone handed the keys to one of the most visible football programs in America, Trent Richardson isn’t too worried about his production. The third-year Alabama running back paid his dues for the past two years, sitting behind Heisman Trophy winner Mark Ingram. Now he owns the Tide’s backfield, but he’s not looking to match Ingram’s career or carve his name into any record books. Three games into his first season as “the guy,” Richardson is running like he’s on a mission for some postseason accolades (he’s fourth in the SEC, averaging 105 yards a game and leads the league with eight rushing touchdowns), but he insists his only goal is winning. “I don’t care if people are trying to shut me down or not. As long as my team is having a good time and we’re winning, it’s OK with me,” Richardson said. The last two defenses have failed miserably in shutting him down. Two weeks ago at Penn State, he carried the ball 26 times for 111 yards and two touchdowns. A week later, he ran just 11 times against North Texas for 167 yards and three touchdowns. He has two or more touchdowns in all three games this season. Still, Alabama’s bullish back is humble in his approach and leads more with his mouth than his actions. “In the past, he knew his role and he knew he wasn’t our primary back, but this year he knows the responsibility that comes with that position and he’s really stepped up leadership-wise and really become a leader for us,” offensive lineman Barrett Jones said. Jones said it’s been a joy working with Richardson. Physically, Jones said Richardson is “better than ever” because of the shape he’s in and his ability to absorb hits better this season. Richardson’s attitude has also been a blessing. It would have been easy for him to give up in the past as one of the most talented backups around, but he didn’t. It also would have been easy for Richardson to come in with a “get mine” attitude this season, but he hasn’t. “Not many guys could have done what Trent did the past two years here — playing behind Mark,” Jones said. “Most people would say that Trent probably would have started anywhere else in the country. He waited his turn and supported Mark and really was the ultimate teammate.” Instead of resenting Ingram, Richardson listened and learned from him. He tried to mimic Ingram’s cutting ability and quickness. He learned how to read defenses better with extensive film sessions with Ingram and most of all; he learned to be humble as the go-to -guy. Ingram left Richardson with the wisdom of expecting to get a defense’s best each week and to overprepare in order to keep from getting complacent. This weekend, complacency would hurt Richardson and Alabama’s offense. The Tide faces its toughest test thus far when No. 14 Arkansas comes to town. The Razorbacks have yet to allow a rushing touchdown this season and are allowing 87.7 rushing yards a game and 3.3 yards per carry. Richardson said he expects to get the kitchen sink thrown his way from Arkansas’ defense. Not just because of the West implications or the overall talent Arkansas’ defense has, but the Hogs know firsthand how talented he is. Richardson has averaged 75 yards in two games against Arkansas. Richardson knows this Arkansas team will be accounting for him on every play and come Saturday afternoon, he’ll be ready for it. “I know they’re going to bring everything to me Saturday,” he said. “I know I have to be prepare because they’re going to be ready for me.”
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Trent Richardson taking humble approach
Filed under Football by on Sep 21st, 2011. Comment.
Brandon Richardson ’s free throws with 7.2 seconds helped the Cornhuskers hold on for a 70-67 win against the Longhorns.
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Video: Nebraska shocks No. 2 Texas
Filed under Basketball by on Feb 19th, 2011. Comment.
IOWA STATE CYCLONES The class Signees : 22 (four junior college, four enrolled early) Top prospects : The Cyclones’ top signee is running back DeVondrick Nealy , and they added another back in Rob Standard . Both are among the nation’s top 75 running backs. Tad Ecby is the nation’s No. 83 receiver, and Quenton Bundrage and Ted Lampkin will also catch passes for Paul Rhoads. Sam Richardson is the nation’s No. 53 quarterback and Jamison Lalk is the nation’s No. 104 offensive tackle. Needs met: Rhoads did this well, adding three receivers among his highest-rated recruits to boost a position that in 2010, was probably one of the Big 12’s worst. And Sedrick Johnson, tight end Collin Franklin and Jake Williams are all leaving Ames. Jared Brackens and Sam Richardson should also help a secondary that loses both starting safeties and the top reserve at safety. Analysis: Iowa State is not a team that’s going to go toe-to-toe with Texas and get ready-made talents that can be impact players in the Big 12 immediately. Winning in Ames is about getting guys in the right positions to succeed and developing the talent you can get. Iowa isn’t a deep state in terms of talent, and the Cyclones already have to deal with big brother in Iowa City scooping up the state’s top talent. As a result, you see five players from Texas, five from California, and four from Florida to compliment the five from Iowa. Iowa State got some talent where they need bodies, and developing that talent will be crucial to continuing what Rhoads has built so far in two seasons with the Cyclones. Their class ranks last in the Big 12, but the Cyclones deal with disadvantages not many others in the Big 12 have to contend with. ESPN recruiting grade: C-minus
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Iowa State recruiting analysis
Filed under Football by on Feb 3rd, 2011. Comment.
1. Here’s why Urban Meyer should answer for the 30 arrests – thank you, Chris Rainey – during his six years at Florida. It’s not as if he’s recruiting thugs that no one else wants. He is fighting to get many of the same kids that Alabama and Texas and Ohio State, et al, are signing. Those schools aren’t having near the number of arrests as the Gators. The only other variable is the police. Are Gainesville cops really that different
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Three-point stance: 30 arrests in Gainesville
Filed under Football by on Sep 16th, 2010. Comment.
All those Alabama fans hoping to see more of Trent Richardson this season will get their wish in the Crimson Tide’s opener, although it’s not the way anybody wanted it to happen. Heisman Trophy winner Mark Ingram will miss Saturday’s game against San Jose State after injuring his left knee in Monday’s practice and undergoing arthroscopic surgery Tuesday morning. It’s Richardson’s show now, and it may be his show for most of the first month of the season. At this point, Ingram is only being ruled out for the opener, but there’s no way Alabama coach Nick Saban will push him back before he’s ready. First and foremost, Saban isn’t going to do anything that would jeopardize Ingram’s NFL career. Plus, if you push Ingram back before the knee has had time to properly heal, you risk the chance of losing him again later in the season or playing with a version of Ingram that’s only 60 or 70 percent for the remainder of the season. Alabama will be smarter than that. The Crimson Tide would love to have him back for the Penn State game the second week of the season, but that might be wishful thinking. Getting the Nittany Lions at home helps, too. Alabama shouldn’t need him to beat Duke the third week of the season, which means the real goal may be getting him back for that trip to Arkansas on Sept. 25. Every player is different when it comes to recovering from injuries. Ingram’s track record suggests that he’ll be back sooner rather than later. Either way, this is an example of why depth is so valuable in this league, but it’s also a reminder of how quickly that depth can disappear. Alabama is now one injury away from playing with a running back who’s never taken a snap. Redshirt freshman Eddie Lacy is plenty talented, but he’s never played. Of course, a lot of teams out there would love to have a talent like Richardson to fall back on after their starter goes down. Richardson was already poised to get more carries than he did last season (145), but he now becomes the Crimson Tide’s workhorse until Ingram returns. As a freshman, the most Richardson carried the ball in a game was 19 times, and that came in the BCS National Championship Game win over Texas. In fact, in seven games last season, Richardson had fewer than 10 carries. He might have 10 carries by the end of the first quarter on Saturday.
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Alabama won’t rush Ingram back
Filed under Football, News by on Aug 31st, 2010. Comment.
Yet, while No. 3 put up great stats during his entire freshman campaign, he saved his best clutch performance for the BCS National Championship Game against the Texas Longhorns . Ingram was named the game’s offensive MVP after rushing for 116 yards and… Source: Bleacher Report
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Trent Richardson: The Alabama Crimson Tide’s Other Star Running Back
Filed under News by on Aug 11th, 2010. Comment.
