From a neophyte to starter
Richardson, who was new to sport as a high school freshman, now plays outside linebacker for Morgan State
Morgan State outside linebacker Lawrence H. Richardson III did not play football until his freshman year of high school. The reason was more frivolous than one might expect.
“I was a really lazy kid,” he recalled with a laugh. “Just played video games and enjoyed my summers. I think that was the main thing because as a kid, you wanted to enjoy your summers. But football would take that away. So I just didn’t want to play.”
Richardson eventually warmed to the idea of playing the sport, and that decision has proved fortuitous for the Bears. In two games so far, the 6-foot-1, 215-pound junior leads the defense in total tackles (19), solo tackles (13), tackles for loss (two) and forced fumbles (one).
In Saturday’s 29-21 loss at Towson, Richardson racked up 13 tackles (nine solo), two tackles for loss and one forced fumble. He and Morgan State (0-2) will attempt to collect their first win of the season in their home opener against Sacred Heart (1-1) on Saturday at noon at Hughes Stadium in Baltimore.
Junior center Dexter Carr Jr., Richardson’s roommate and best friend on the team, said Richardson is a commanding figure among the Bears.
“I think Lawrence definitely has a presence around him,” Carr said. “You can just tell when he’s in with the ones or if he’s working with the twos or the D-line or anybody. The whole defense responds well with him. He makes sure his guys are where they need to be. He just provides a really good presence for the defense.”
Despite his initial resistance to playing football, Richardson’s change of heart was influenced by his older brother, Daniel, who played linebacker at Bishop McDevitt High School in Philadelphia. Daniel Richardson, who is 11 years older, was renowned so much for his thumping tackles that he was nicknamed “The Waterboy” after the title character of the film of the same name who pummeled opposing players.
“I used to look up to him all the time,” Lawrence Richardson said. “He was a really hard hitter. So when I got to high school, it was like a new chapter in my life, and I stuck to it.”
Practices in the preseason were long and taxing, limiting Richardson’s fondness for video games or many other extracurricular activities. When he entertained thoughts of giving up the sport, he remembered what his father, Lawrence H. Richardson Jr., told him.
“He was like, ‘Once you start something, you’ve got to stick to it,’ ” he said. “So I started taking that to heart. After I passed that, being around your teammates a lot and staying around and stuff like that, it helped me get through it.”
As a junior, Richardson drew interest from Army West Point, Dartmouth and Villanova. In his senior year, Morgan State entered the picture and landed Richardson when former coach Tyrone Wheatley offered a full scholarship.
“They were the only school that trusted me,” Richardson said of the Bears. “They were the only school that had faith in me. I went back to God all the time. I would just pray about it because I didn’t know where I was going to go. I was just like, ‘God, I want to play football somewhere that is DI.’ I wouldn’t be going to college if it wasn’t for the full scholarship.
“So God just gave that to me, and I just ran with it.”
Richardson acknowledged that he had a quiet 2019 campaign, compiling nine tackles and one interception in seven games. He burst onto the scene last fall, ranking fifth in the Mid-Eastern Athletic Conference in tackles per game (6.8) and adding 5 ½ tackles for loss, two interceptions and one sack.
“I felt like God was blessing me with this talent, and that whatever happened, it was just His will,” he said of his numbers from 2021.
“I feel like I could have done better, but I feel like I did pretty good.”
In February, Wheatley acknowledged that he was leaving the program to become the running backs coach for the Denver Broncos. The news stunned Richardson.
“That was the coach that brought me in, the coach that gave me the full scholarship,” he said. “So it really hurt me and surprised me. I thought about [transferring], but I weighed my pros and cons, and with all the people I’ve met over the years at Morgan, I just didn’t want to leave.”
After making six tackles in a 59-7 setback at Georgia Southern on Sept. 3, Richardson enjoyed his best game of the season Saturday at Towson. He credited linebackers coach Brawley Evans with helping him find a comfort zone in a new defense crafted by assistant head coach-defensive coordinator Antone’ Sewell.
“I look at my film from last year against Towson, and my eyes were all over the place,
I was bouncing all over the place, and I wasn’t really comfortable,” Richardson said. “This game, even though it wasn’t perfect, I just stuck to what my coaches were telling me to do, and that helped me out a lot.”
Damon Wilson, who succeeded Wheatley in May, said he has been impressed by Richardson’s dedication to preparation — either via practice or film study.
“Lawrence is a real cerebral football player,” he said. “He watches a lot of film and asks good questions in meetings, and I think Coach Brawley is doing a great job of preparing him for the football game. I think that has a lot to do with his fast start just because he’s prepared for the different looks that teams are making. He understands his adjustments and everything else.”
Richardson is the early bird for team meetings, according to Carr, his roommate. And despite their close relationship, neither player is above getting in an extra shove when they are matched up against each other during practice.
“Lawrence is really competitive, and I’m competitive,” Carr said. “So we definitely go at it. He might get me on one play, and then I’ll get him on the next play, and then he’s definitely going to come back harder to try to figure out a way. It gets really physical, for sure.”