Trent Richardson

Trent Richardson (born July 10, 1991) is an American football running back for the Cleveland Browns of the National Football League (NFL). He played college football for the University of Alabama, was recognized as an All-American, and was a member of two BCS National Championship teams. The Cleveland Browns selected him with the third overall pick of the 2012 NFL Draft, and he was rated as the best running back prospect since Adrian Peterson.

Early years
Richardson was born in Pensacola, Florida. He attended Escambia High School in Pensacola, here he finished his senior season with 2,090 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 sophomore 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 is 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
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
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
With the departure of Mark Ingram to the NFL, Richardson took over the starting role at running back. During the season Trent 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, Trent 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 Alexanders 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.

2012 NFL Draft
Entering his junior season, Richardson was widely regarded as the best running back available in the 2012 NFL Draft, projected to go as high as the No. 4 pick. His strong performance on the field, replacing Mark Ingram, solidified his status. In October 2011, Sports Illustrated′s Tony Pauline ranked him as the No. 3 prospect on his midseason draft board, noting his "outstanding combination of quickness, power and speed." 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.

In March 2012, Richardson was widely projected to be a top-6 draft choice,  with the Cleveland Browns, Tampa Bay Buccaneers, and St. Louis Rams rumored to be most interested in selecting him. Former Colts vice chairman Bill Polian called him one of the "three sure-thing players" in the 2012 draft.

Richardson was eventually selected third overall by the Cleveland Browns, after they had traded picks with the Minnesota Vikings to prevent the Tampa Bay Buccaneers from doing the same transaction. 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 $13.6 million signing bonus.

Cleveland Browns
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 TD on 19 carries. He also had 4 receptions for 36 yards and a receiving TD. He was the first Browns rookie ever 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 TDs, tying Jim Brown's franchise rookie record of 9 touchdowns.

After his rookie season, it was revealed that he had been playing with 2 or 3 broken ribs since Week 6.

Personal
Richardson has two daughters who are three and five years old. Richardson's first son was born October 5, 2012.

On April 13, 2012, he took leukemia survivor Courtney Alvis to her senior prom at Hueytown High School.