Trent Richardson

Early years

Richardson was born in Pensacola, Florida. He attended Escambia High School, where he played football, in Pensacola, the same city as NFL Hall of Famer Emmitt Smith, who attended Booker T Washington High School, where he finished his senior season with 2,100 yards on 228 carries scoring 25 touchdowns. In a game against Milton High School in September 2008, Richardson rushed for 419 yards on 29 carries and scored six touchdowns, a performance that earned him a selection as the first ESPN RISE National Football Player of the Week. As a junior, Richardson also reached the 400-yard plateau, as he ran for 407 yards in his opening game against Tate High School. He finished his junior season (8 games) with 1,390 yards and 13 touchdowns, and received FSWA All-State 5A second team honors. He sat out his second year due to an injury. He made the FSWA 5A All-State First Team as a senior, and was named 5A Florida Player of the Year and a finalist for the 2008 Mr. Football. Richardson also received consensus All-American honors and was named to the Orlando Sentinel's All Southern Team (Florida).

Richardson also lettered in track & field at Escambia. In 2008, he captured a regional title in the 100-meter dash (10.81 s) and placed 5th at the state meet with a time of 10.9 seconds (World-class sprinter Jeff Demps won the event). He owned a personal-best time of 10.5 seconds in the 100 meters. In addition, he also participated in the long jump event and had a best-mark of 6.55 meters.

Richardson was frequently compared to Emmitt Smith, who also starred at Escambia (1987 graduate), but his physique and running style are more similar to Earl Campbell. Richardson also drew comparisons to Michael Turner and O. J. Simpson. Considered a five-star recruit by Rivals.com, Richardson was listed as the No. 2 running back prospect in the nation (behind only Bryce Brown). He chose Alabama over Florida, Florida State, and LSU, among others.

College career

Richardson accepted an athletic scholarship to attend the University of Alabama, where he played for coach Nick Saban's Alabama Crimson Tide football team from 2009 to 2011.

2009 season

In his first year at Alabama, Richardson stepped in quickly for the departed Glen Coffee, and shared time at the tailback position with Roy Upchurch and Mark Ingram, Jr. When recruited, Crimson Tide coach Nick Saban called Richardson, "the real key to the class," and "an outstanding player at a position that a young player can contribute next year."

Richardson was named SEC Freshman of the Week for Week 2 and Week 4. Richardson was also named to the 2009 SEC All-Freshman team alongside Barrett Jones and Nico Johnson. He also contributed significantly in the 2010 BCS National Championship with 109 yards rushing and 2 touchdowns. For the season, he had 145 carries for 751 yards rushing and 8 touchdowns. He also had 126 yards receiving on the season.

2010 season

Richardson started the first two games of the season with Mark Ingram sitting out due to an injury. In the season opener, he had 10 carries for 66 yards and 2 touchdowns. He also had 3 receptions for 46 yards. The following week against Penn State, he ran for a career-high 144 yards on 22 carries and a touchdown. He also had 4 catches for 46 yards. Trent was named Co-SEC Offensive Player of the Week for his efforts.

For the season, he had 112 carries for 700 yards rushing and 6 touchdowns and 266 yards receiving and 4 touchdowns. Richardson also had 634 kick return yards with a touchdown on the year.

2011 season

With the departure of Mark Ingram to the NFL, Richardson took over the starting role at running back. During the season Richardson ran for over 100 yards in nine games. He tied Shaun Alexander with six consecutive 100-yard rushing games. He scored two or more touchdowns in seven games. He set a career-high against Ole Miss running for 183 yards and four touchdowns. In the Iron Bowl, Richardson ran for a new career high of 203 yards. He won the Doak Walker Award becoming the first player from Alabama to win. He finished third in the Heisman Trophy voting behind eventual winner Robert Griffin III and Andrew Luck. In the 2012 BCS National Championship Game, Richardson rushed for 96 yards and a touchdown to secure his second national championship with the Crimson Tide.

For the season, Richardson had 1,679 rushing yards, breaking Mark Ingram's record for most rushing yards in a season, and 21 rushing touchdowns. His 21 rushing touchdowns was also an SEC running back record. He also had 338 receiving yards with three touchdowns, making his season total touchdowns 24 which tied Shaun Alexander's SEC record. On January 12, 2012, Richardson declared for the 2012 NFL Draft, thus forgoing his final year of collegiate eligibility. At the time of his announcement, he was projected as a first round pick and the top running back prospect in the draft.

Pre-draft

Entering his junior season, Richardson was widely regarded as the best running back available in the 2012 NFL Draft, and he cemented his reputation with strong play over the course of the year. After undergoing a minor knee surgery in February 2012, Richardson did not participate in drills at the 2012 NFL Combine. He later also decided to skip workouts at the Alabama Pro Day on March 7. Richardson held his own Pro Day on March 27.

By March 2012, Richardson was widely projected to be a top six draft choice by the majority of analysts and scouts, with the Cleveland Browns, Tampa Bay Buccaneers, and St. Louis Rams rumored to be showing the most interest. Former Colts vice chairman Bill Polian called him one of the "three sure-thing players" in the 2012 draft.

2012 NFL Draft

Richardson was eventually selected in the first round with the third overall pick by the Cleveland Browns, after they had traded picks with the Minnesota Vikings to select him ahead of the Tampa Bay Buccaneers. Richardson was the highest selected running back since Reggie Bush went second overall in 2006. The Browns had not selected a running back in the first round since William Green in 2002. On July 23, Richardson and the Cleveland Browns agreed to a four-year, $20.4 million contract (fully guaranteed) with a $13.3 million signing bonus.

2012 season

On August 9, 2012, Richardson underwent arthroscopic surgery to remove some cartilage fragments in his left knee. Richardson missed the entire preseason, but returned for the season opener. In his debut against the Philadelphia Eagles, he rushed for 39 yards on 19 carries, being limited in his touches after having just come off the disabled list. The following week, in a 24-34 loss against the Cincinnati Bengals, he rushed for 109 yards and a touchdown on 19 carries. He also had 4 receptions for 36 yards and a receiving touchdown. He was the first Browns rookie to rush for over 100 yards and score rushing and receiving touchdowns, all in the same game. During Week 13, against the Kansas City Chiefs, Richardson rushed for 42 yards and 2 touchdowns, tying Jim Brown's franchise rookie record of 9 touchdowns. He rushed for 3.6 yards per carry, which was the lowest yards per carry stat for a rookie running back in the NFL 2012 season.

2013 season

Prior to the 2013 season, Richardson was ranked as the 71st best player in the NFL by his fellow players. Richardson would only play two games for the Browns in 2013. He rushed for 105 yards on 31 carries.

Indianapolis Colts

On September 18, 2013, Richardson was traded to the Indianapolis Colts for a 2014 first-round draft pick. The Colts were looking for a running back after a season-ending injury to Vick Ballard.

In his first carry as a Colt, Richardson scored a touchdown against the San Francisco 49ers. He struggled through most of the season and was demoted in favor of Donald Brown on December 1, 2013. Richardson returned to his starting role in the Colts Week 15 game against the Houston Texans when Brown left due to injury, and recorded his first touchdown since Week 4 against Jacksonville.

Richardson fumbled on his first career playoff carry against the Kansas City Chiefs in the Colts' Wild Card game.

2014 season

Richardson began the season splitting carries with veteran running back Ahmad Bradshaw, limiting his carries and yardage totals. Bradshaw was injured in a Week 11 game against the New England Patriots, making Richardson the lead back. However, after Week 13, Dan Herron replaced Richardson as the Colts' primary running back after totaling 88 yards on just eight carries, including a 49-yard touchdown run.

In the 2014–15 NFL playoffs, Richardson was not active for Indianapolis' final two playoff games. He was suspended by the team for the AFC Championship Game against the Patriots after he missed walkthrough for what he called a "family emergency" and did not alert the team.

On March 12, 2015, the Colts waived Richardson.

Oakland Raiders

On March 17, 2015, Richardson signed a two-year, $3,850,000 contract with the Oakland Raiders. The deal included $600,000 guaranteed. He missed the first part of training camp due to a bout with pneumonia. On August 31, 2015, Richardson was released by the team.

Baltimore Ravens

On April 18, 2016, Richardson signed with the Baltimore Ravens, but was waived by the team on August 2, 2016.

CFL interest

In July 2017, the Saskatchewan Roughriders of the Canadian Football League added Richardson to their negotiation list. However, the following month, Richardson announced his decision to not sign with the team.

Personal life

Richardson has two daughters: Taliyah and Elevera. Richardson's first son, Trent Jr., was born October 5, 2012. On February 16, 2017, Richardson was arrested on third-degree domestic violence charges in Hoover, Alabama.