OTTAWA — Trent Richardson will have plenty of company on the field with him Saturday.
And that isn’t limited to his Saskatchewan Roughriders teammates.
The former NFLer, who is to make his CFL debut with Saskatchewan against the host Toronto Argonauts, admitted Wednesday that he’ll be thinking about his family when he plays a regular-season pro football game for the first time since 2014.
“It’s going to mean a lot,” the 27-year-old product of Pensacola, Fla., said after practice at MNP Park on the Carleton University campus. “With everything that has been going on in my life, including my kids, we all went through a lot …
“People said I couldn’t (play anymore) or people were always doubting me. I have little faces back at home, my (four) kids, who really truly believed in me (along with) my mom and a couple of other people.”
Richardson was an NCAA star at the University of Alabama, where he accumulated 3,130 yards and 35 touchdowns along the ground and 730 yards and seven TDs on receptions. The Crimson Tide won two national titles during his three seasons as the starting tailback.
The Cleveland Browns selected the 5-foot-9, 225-pound Richardson in the first round (third overall) of the 2012 NFL draft. In 15 games that season, he rushed for 950 yards and added 11 TDs, a franchise record for rookies.
But Richardson averaged just 3.6 yards per carry for the Browns — and that ended up being his career high in the NFL. Stops with the Indianapolis Colts, Oakland Raiders and Baltimore Ravens didn’t lead to long-term employment and Richardson was out of the NFL before the 2016 season.
The Roughriders put him on their negotiation list in July and he signed on Sept. 26. One week later, he’s on the active roster and is set to play in his first regular-season game since Dec. 28, 2014.
Asked Wednesday if there will be any rust to knock off, Richardson laughed and replied: “I don’t know.”
“Hopefully there isn’t,” continued Richardson, who had six carries for 11 yards in the Colts’ 27-10 victory over the Tennessee Titans that day. “Hopefully I get out there (at) full speed and ready to go. If there is some rust, hopefully it won’t be that much.”
Saskatchewan certainly hopes so.
The Roughriders’ running game hasn’t been productive of late, so they’re hoping a former NFL first-rounder can give it a spark. After one week, Richardson has impressed them with his size, his athleticism and his capacity to figure out the offence.
“So far, what he has shown us is a guy who’s hungry to get on the football field,” running backs coach Kent Maugeri said. “I think he’s going to be a good fit.”
That said, a lot of work has gone into preparing Richardson. The strength and conditioning staff have tried to get him into game shape, and Maugeri has been hitting his new tailback with questions that test Richardson’s understanding of his new surroundings.
So far, so good.
“From the first day, when he didn’t realize there were 12 guys on the field, until now, where (head coach-GM Chris Jones) is bringing exotic, crazy pressures and (Richardson) is picking them up, he is 1,000 times better and getting more comfortable in the system,” Maugeri said.
“Obviously, he has got all the physical tools — he can run, he can block, he can catch — but it has been fun to watch him learn the system and the CFL game as opposed to the NFL game and the college game. He’s really doing a good job.”
The biggest thing for Richardson is knowing his assignments. He has been receiving pointers from quarterback Kevin Glenn, receiver Duron Carter and other offensive players, all of whom have corrected Richardson if he made a mistake.
Jones initially said the Roughriders wouldn’t insert Richardson into the lineup until he knew the pass protections inside and out. On Wednesday, Richardson said he was “getting there” when it came to his blocking.
“The terminology is just different,” he said. “Blocking-wise, I can block all day. One thing that has always been a blessing for me is the abilities I have, being strong and being able to see stuff before it happens. That always came in handy when it came to blocking.”
As for running the football, he wants to be the back he was at Alabama — and that’s what the Roughriders want, too. Jones said the hope is that Richardson will run with power and gain “4 ½, five yards when he touches the football.”
Asked what his own expectations were for Saturday’s game, Richardson declined to comment other than to say, “Personal.”
Kienan LaFrance has been the Roughriders’ starting tailback since Cameron Marshall suffered a knee injury Sept. 3 against the Winnipeg Blue Bombers. Despite the new addition, LaFrance still could start Saturday’s game with Richardson as his backup.
It’s also unclear if Richardson is just a stop-gap measure until Marshall returns to full health.
“When you’ve got guys who get hurt, you bring good players in and see where they’re going to fit with your football team,” Jones said.
“I’m not going to sit here and try to read into the future and tell you what we’re going to be doing in three weeks. We’re just looking short term right now and (will) try to get immediate results, put a really good back in and try to be able to run the football.”
