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E-Rich: TU's Consummate Football Player
9/15/2003 12:00:00 AM | Football
Sept. 15, 2003
There are many constants involved with a season of college football. Fans, trips, stadiums, tailgating and exciting games are just a few elements that are consistent with each season. One of the more common aspects consistent with every college football campaign is the fact that another group of seniors will embark on their final season of playing collegiate football.
As Tulsa plays its first home game of the year today against Texas State, TU's 2003 senior class will have one less game remaining in the regular season after today. More often than not, a majority of football players want to leave a lasting legacy for people to remember, not so much for the fact that they played, but more importantly, how they played the game. The same can be said for one particular Tulsa senior, Eric Richardson.
E-Rich, as he is affectionately known by his teammates, coaches and athletic staff at TU, is hungry, but not for food or water. He is hungry for yards, wins, and success in his final season in a University of Tulsa uniform.
Richardson has achieved a great deal during his career at Tulsa. He is a three-year letterwinner and two-year starter as a running back, and has led the team in rushing in two out his three seasons. Richardson recently reached 10th place on Tulsa's career rushing list, and needs 123 yards to become the ninth player in school history to surpass 2,000 career yards.
"My goal this year is to reach 1,000 yards," Richardson said. "It's important for me to get yards since I am a running back, but I also have to concentrate on helping us win games. If I have to come out of the backfield and catch passes like I did against Minnesota, then that's what I will do. I will do whatever it takes for us to win football games."
Richardson has been behind the eight ball since he came to TU. Although he played in nine games as a true freshman, he missed the first three games of the season with a lower back injury. When he did get to play, he was inserted into the lineup as a wide receiver, a position he said he had never played before, or as a kickoff returner.
However, with two games remaining in the 2000 season, Richardson was placed in the TU backfield and ran for a total of 380 yards in the final two games. He was limited his sophomore season because of neck injury, but returned as a junior and narrowly missed 1,000 yards.
"I feel like I could have rushed for 1,000 yards during my freshman year if I had been healthy. Missing out on playing time made me very hungry and I have been able to maintain that hunger ever since. I'm a competitor and I will never give up no matter what, and I think that is what carries me. I believe our team has that same mindset this season."
Richardson grew up in Duncanville, Texas, with his parents and two older brothers, Lee and Jimmy. However, when he was 10-years-old, his parents split up and the responsibility of being both a mother and a father fell on the shoulders of his mother, Alice.
"My mother raised me for the most part. She was mother and my father all in one. She means everything to me. When I was playing little league baseball, she would take me to practice, or to the store to get whatever I needed to play. She has been my inspiration. I tell her all the time she is my life, health and strength. She is my number one fan," Richardson said.
In looking back at some of his most memorable games as a Golden Hurricane, Richardson said two games stick out in his mind.
"I think the game that I remember the most was at Fresno State last year. It was an exciting game. They were hitting hard, but I never got tired. I think my adrenaline was flowing the entire game. Another game was against Nevada my freshman year when I rushed for 206 yards and my mother was there to see it."
Although he still has 10 regular games remaining in his senior season, Richardson has already thought out how he would like to be remembered long after his career at Tulsa is over.
"Our strength coach, Pat Ivey, said he voted for me as a player who won't ever give up, and I want to be known for that, the player who never gave up no matter what. The team can count on me to do whatever it takes. No matter what the score is or what is happening in the game, there is always something we can do or improve upon. You won't ever see me loafing or hear me saying 'we can't do this'."
As hungry as Richardson has been on the football field, he has also approached his academics in the same manner. He has also excelled in the classroom, and is on course to complete his communication degree in December of 2004. He said he would like to use his degree in the world or sports, possibly in marketing.
