No ordinary freshman
LB Richardson becomes starter in Week 2 of first year
NORFOLK — Norfolk State defensive coordinator Steve Adams has a healthy mix of veterans and young guys leading the Spartans so far.
One of the most notable has been true freshman linebacker AJ Richardson.
When Richardson arrived on campus this summer, Adams expected the Kings Mountain, North Carolina, native to take his time adjusting to college football like most freshmen. But Richardson quickly proved he didn’t come to Norfolk State to wait around.
“We anticipated him starting to compete for a job and maybe a starting role, we were thinking maybe by the bye week,” Adams said. “But by the time we got to the second scrimmage (of fall camp), it was pretty evident that he was going to be a significant contributor to our defense. And ultimately, he won the starting job in Week 2.”
Despite not appearing on the two-deep depth chart for Norfolk State’s season opener against Virginia State, Richardson made his presence known on the field with a team-leading nine tackles.
Through the first two weeks of the season, Richardson led the team in tackles and now sits in second with 16 total. That number puts him 10th in the MEAC.
The following week, Odums said it can be hard to play true freshmen early and often, but that the choice to play Richardson was an easy one.
Richardson, like all freshmen in Odums’ program, is not available for interviews.
“It’s just great to see him playing really well in his first football game,” Odums said two weeks ago. “He’s gonna continue to get better, the game will slow down for him. You’re gonna see the best is in front of him, and he’s off to a great start to a college career.”
Through three games this season, Richardson has the third-highest Pro Football Focus (PFF) overall defense grade (72.4) of any Spartan who has played at least 50 snaps this season. That same grade puts him as the seventh-highest graded linebacker in the MEAC who has played at least 50 snaps.
Richardson cracked the starting lineup in Week 2 against Hampton and started Saturday against Temple. He has already played 149 snaps, the fourth-most for Norfolk State. He is also third on the team in tackles for loss (2.5), and he’s one of the three Spartans to have logged a sack this season.
Odums said Richardson is
continuing to improve each week, especially when it comes to his communication skills and understanding of the game.
“(He’s a) film junkie, he doesn’t make the same mistakes twice and that’s rough for freshmen,” Odums said. “So I think when you look at it, he looks like he should be playing, he talks like he should be playing. And when you have that kind of confidence, it’s only a matter of time before the coaches realize you should be playing.”
Richardson quickly established himself as a leader once he got to campus, Odums said, and that confidence has helped him improve on the field.
“I always tell these guys, ‘Leadership doesn’t mean you’ve been here, it doesn’t mean what your classification is, leadership is you,’ ” Odums said. “If you’ve been a leader coming out of high school, be a leader when you go to college. If it’s in you, there’s no way we can stop you from being that person — and he’s that kind of person.”
Aside from his intangibles, Adams said Richardson’s pure physicality has helped him stand out. Richardson checks in at 6-feet-1 and 235 pounds.
“He always loved the weight room,” Adams said. “So physically, he doesn’t play like an 18-year-old freshman. He’s physically stronger, he’s physically more mature because he embraced that weight room from probably the time he was a freshman in high school.”
Adams said he references Ray Lewis — and how he combined his physicality and mental intangibles — in discussions with Richardson throughout the season.
“Ray Lewis played 18 years in the league, and by the time he got to year eight, nine and 10, there were more athletic linebackers in the league — but what they didn’t have was this up here,” Adams said,
pointing to his brain. “So (Richardson’s) grasped that concept and he’s embraced that as a freshman. Now he’s able to when his mind
is not slowing down his feet, and he’s not thinking as much and he’s not playing hesitant, now he can go get that football and that’s what he does best.”