Three Days Away from Bama Kickoff: Trent Richardson

Each day counting down to Alabama's Week 1 matchup with Utah State, I will highlight a former player whose jersey number coincides with the amount of days until the game. The Tide takes the field in only three days, so let's look at a legendary Bama running back, Trent Richardson. 

Trent Richardson suited up for the Crimson Tide from 2009-11 and was a member of two National Championship teams. He put together an incredible three year career in Crimson and White, finishing as one of the program's top all-time leading rushers.

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A five-star prospect in the 2009 class, Richardson was the second ranked player in the state of Florida and committed to Alabama over a plethora of other offers. In his first season, the 5-foot-9, 225 lb. back shared a backfield with Heisman Trophy winner Mark Ingram, and the Tide went undefeated and won a national title over Texas. Despite being just a freshman, Richardson ran for over 700 yards and proved he was an elite talent.

In his second year, Richardson once more split carries with Ingram, finishing the season with 700 rushing yards and six scores. The Tide went 10-3 and missed out on a return to the title game, but the sophomore was primed to take over in 2011.

As a junior, the Pensacola native finally became the full-time starter and put together a monster season. He rushed for over 1,600 yards and 21 touchdowns and was named a finalist for the Heisman Trophy. Alabama went 12-1 and won another National Championship, this time avenging a regular season loss to LSU.

Although he lost out to Robert Griffin III of Baylor for the Heisman, Richardson won the Doak Walker Award and was named SEC Offensive Player of the Year. He was also named a unanimous All-American as well as First Team SEC.

In the 2012 NFL Draft, Richardson was selected third overall by the Cleveland Browns, but spent just a year with the team before being traded to the Indianapolis Colts. Though he was expected to possibly compete for a starting role, Richardson struggled to catch on in Indianapolis and was released after just two seasons.

He signed a deal with the Raiders in 2015, but was waived before the start of the year, and after joining the Baltimore Ravens the next season, was released once more.

After the NFL, Richardson saw a brief stint with the Saskatchewan Roughriders of the CFL and then suited up for the Birmingham Iron of the AAF in 2019.

Now, Richardson plays for Caudillos de Chihuahua of the Mexican American Football League.

Stay locked in to Tide1009.com for the countdown to Alabama football. Check out the rest of the list here.