Terry Richardson

Mission: The 2012 In-state Defensive Haul, Part III
James Ross and Danny O'Brien are likely to be rated as the top two players in the state of Michigan by sites such as Rivals and Scout, but Terry Richardson is the prospect who has garnered attention from the likes of Alabama, LSU, and USC.

Terry Richardson
5'9" 160 lbs.
Cornerback
Detroit Cass Tech
According to Scout, Richardson had four interceptions and 20 tackles as a sophomore and finished this past season with eight interceptions and 30 tackles. Don't be alarmed if those interception numbers go down in 2011. Teams took their chances throwing toward Richardson in 2010 instead of risking throwing toward 2011 Michigan signee Delonte Hollowell, who partnered Terry at corner this past season. Teams will likely give Richardson the same treatment when he's a senior. Richardson reported a 4.64 forty yard dash back in 2009. It's safe to say that his time is likely down to around the 4.5 range. Let's look at Richardson's junior film and break down his strengths on the gridiron. 

A few things stand out to me in Richardson's film, the most prevalent being his pure athleticism. There are numerous plays where Richardson is forced to use his leaping ability to break up passes and even with his small stature he looks like he's able to go up against bigger receivers. I really like the play at 7:16. He has to turn and run with the receiver but he stays with the ball the whole way and he makes a hell of a play when the ball's at its highest point. Richardson has good speed as well and he'll hit hard, if he can't get to the ball, when he breaks on receivers. Overall, he looks to be a good tackler, though he doesn't seem as physical as Hollowell at the line of scrimmage. Richardson looks to be a mirror image physically of the three recent cornerback products to come out of Cass (Hollowell, Dior Mathis, Boubacar Cissoko) and he looks to fall in a similar range talent wise, which is saying something.


As I stated at the beginning, Richardson has drawn serious interest nationally and he reports scholarship offers from Alabama, LSU, and USC along with Michigan and numerous other schools. Notre Dame and Ohio State are also actively recruiting him, though I wouldn't expect an offer from Notre Dame as they tend to pursue defensive backs who are a bit taller (edit: lol I was wrong). He's already been invited to the Under Armour All-American Game, which is an ESPN event, so don't be surprised if their rating of Terry is slightly inflated. He'll likely be a solid four star from both Scout and Rivals at the end of the day, though. I think he has the potential to be a solid player at the next level and if it wasn't for his stature, he'd be one of the elite defensive back prospects in the nation. Defensive back is a very difficult position to transition from high school to college, though, simply because high school teams seldom throw the ball. He'll need a year or so to put on more weight, as well. Cass Tech is Michigan's most productive pipeline, but that doesn't mean Richardson is a lock to commit to Michigan. I'd expect him to explore the interest from the SEC and from schools out West before he makes his decision. Michigan is in as good of position right now as anyone, though.