Richardson Makes His Move
Steve Hare
Morrice Richardson was hoping to make his college decision sometime after his Nov. 12 official visit to Notre Dame. The 6-foot-2, 228-pound linebacker from Atlanta, Ga., didn't waste anytime as he pledged his verbal commitment to head coach Charlie Weis on Saturday.
"I committed on Saturday," Richardson said. "But I didn't say anything because I wanted to tell the coaches at Georgia Tech because I had a good relationship with them and the coaches at Virginia Tech. I wanted to tell them what my decision was and that there wasn't any hard feelings because I liked them all."
Richardson liked everything about the Irish, but the opportunity to travel away from home played a big part in his decision.
"It's a great team and they have great coaches and facilities," he said. "But I really wanted to venture into another city than Atlanta."
The visit last weekend was Richardson's second trip to South Bend. He made an unofficial trip there in October when the Irish hosted the top ranked Southern California Trojans.
"I got to see Notre Dame at its best against USC and I got to see it again when it wasn't such a big game," he said. "But every game there is a big game."
Having the chance to meet many of the Notre Dame players only helped to bring Richardson closer to committing to the Irish.
"I got real cool with Maurice Crum and Anthony Vernaglia and Leo Ferrine," he said. "I got to talk to Brady Quinn and Corey Mays; they were all great guys. Even Brandon Hoyte who is leaving was saying how much I needed to commit."
Richardson's parents accompanied him on the trip last weekend and despite knowing that he was very interested in the Irish, his commitment caught them by surprise.
"My mom liked it a lot," he said. "She knew I liked it but she wasn't expecting me to commit. She thought that we'd go home and talk about it but after seeing it, she understood. I told her when you have to make a move, you have to make a move."
That move was well received by the Notre Dame coaching staff.
"My parents and I were in the staff meeting room with coach Weis when I told him," he said. "When we left the room there were rows of coaches clapping. They might have had some trainers out there too. It made me feel really good."
