Notre Dame also highly values Antonio Richardson, OT, 6-6, 310, Ensworth School, Nashville, TN as a possibility for the last offensive line position. Richardson’s rise in recruiting circles has been rapid and even somewhat unexpected since his transfer to Ensworth from Mount Pleasant High School forced him to sit out his sophomore season.
“My daddy asked me if he could get me in would I go and I said yeah,” said Richardson of his transfer to Ensworth. “Mt. Pleasant was very poor academically and the state is about to take them over. At Ensworth it’s a better opportunity for me academically. I’d be getting better teachers and athletically I’d be getting better coaching and training. Everything here is so different and this place is really starting to pay off for me.”
Richardson, though forced to sit out his sophomore season, still managed to take advantage of his forced suspension from football. And the Ensworth coaching staff also did a great job of promoting him even though he wasn’t playing on Friday nights.
“It really killed me to have to stay on the sidelines, but at the end of the day it helped me get used to the system at Ensworth,” recalled Richardson. “It’s basically like college coaching. They’re teaching you the game. It gave me time to learn.”
The Ensworth staff did such a good job of promoting Richardson that, even though he wasn’t playing in games, college coaches still came to practices just to watch the talented sophomore. After having to sit out, Richardson was understandably eager to get back into action. Once he did he quickly made up for lost time, excelling on both sides of the ball. The scholarship offers began to pile up.
“I didn’t know it (recruiting) would come so fast,” he remembered. “It just felt really, really crazy to be back in a varsity game and playing on both sides of the ball. It was crazy fun. It was really, really fun.
Richardson earned all-state honors as a junior while helping his team to a 9-1 record. Though most college programs project him on the offensive side of the ball some programs are recruiting him as a defensive tackle. Richardson doesn’t yet claim any favorites and hopes to narrow his list down to five in the near future.
“I want a coaching staff I can relate to,” said Richardson of what he’s looking for in a program. “My position coach and strength coach, that’s going to play a big factor. Those are the guys you’re with all the time. Those guys will really play a factor in how I really feel about a school.”
Richardson hopes to visit a number of schools this summer and Notre Dame is on that list. “Notre Dame is definitely top notch,” Richardson said. “I know they really have a good tradition. I’m just looking forward to learning more about their school.
