Richardson’s height eclipsed by the chip on his shoulder

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This article was published 23/05/2019 (2354 days ago), so information in it may no longer be current.

He occupies one of the least-glamorous positions on the field, but that hasn’t stopped Steven Richardson from earning a starring role early in training camp.

The 23-year-old defensive tackle, a 295-pound rookie from the University of Minnesota, has earned early raves from all-star Blue Bombers linebacker Adam Bighill. On Thursday, it was Winnipeg head coach Mike O’Shea’s turn.

“He was making a lot of plays,” O’Shea said Thursday afternoon. “He just happens to work in a fairly tight area, and he does it very well. Yeah, he’s been impressive. To have another guy with that kind of power, like Drake (Nevis), is really neat to see.

“He’s built, he’s quick off the ball, he’s got a great get-off. He’s really strong and he’s got some athleticism, too, for the size he has.”

Richardson is a physical specimen, but he’s not a tall man. At 5-103/4, he’s noticeably shorter than most of those working the trenches in the CFL but admits a low centre of gravity can come in very handy on the field.

“It didn’t help me at all (with college recruiters), but definitely from my play it helps all the time,” Richardson said. “You’re going against a 6-5, 6-7 guy that don’t really wanna bend, so my centre of gravity, it always helps.”

At Minnesota, where current Blue Bombers Chris Streveler and Drew Wolitarsky were teammates, Richardson had a superb reputation without a glittering stat line. Although he was double-teamed 90 per cent of the time, he did much of the heavy lifting as he occupied rival offensive linemen while opening gaps for other Minnesota pass rushers.

“He kinda wears that chip on his shoulder,” Wolitarsky said of Richardson’s height. “I know that kinda affected him in the recruiting process… I think he will be good here, especially internally, and having that low centre of gravity — being an agile, athletic guy when there’s so much running involved in this league. I think he’ll do really well.”

Following a four-year career at Minnesota, the Chicago native took a run at regular work in the NFL, signing as an undrafted free agent with the Los Angeles Chargers in 2018 and earning a spot on their practice roster. Released a month later, the silence was deafening until the Blue Bombers called.

But O’Shea had a good grasp of what Richardson was capable of coming into training camp.

“When you watch film on him, you saw plays that jumped out like that, him pushing guys around basically at will, being able to move extremely large men and put them where he wanted them to be against their will. So that’s pretty impressive.”

Praise from Bighill came as a confidence-booster.

“It means a lot,” Richardson said. “You assume you’re kinda doing good but you don’t know where you are, you don’t know where you stand, so hearing that from a veteran, it feels really good. Especially that guy. I got to know him the last couple of days and I like him a lot.”

Wolitarsky believes Richardson could benefit Winnipeg’s locker-room atmosphere.

“He’s such a quiet dude, actually,” Wolitarsky said. “Two days ago, I asked Strev, ‘Hey, is Steve still here?’ He’s like, ‘Yeah, man.’ I hadn’t seen him or heard his voice in two days but I finally got to have lunch with him yesterday. So, it was fun. Just a goofy kid, man. He’s such a strong, intimidating-looking guy but a really great dude. Super funny, once you get to know him. One of those quiet guys who really kinda surprises you with comedy. It’s good to have him here. We might as well bring the whole Minnesota team at this rate.”

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NOTEWORTHY: Running back Andrew Harris was in uniform but not a full participant in workouts again Thursday. O’Shea was asked if his return to active duty was on a schedule. “No schedule,” O’Shea said. “He’s in the meeting rooms, he understands the playbook as well as anyone does. He’s teaching the young guys. He doesn’t need the reps. He’s had a pile of touches in the last bunch of years. I don’t think he needs any in training camp, really.”… Training camp continues today (10:15 a.m. to 12:45 p.m.) and Saturday (8:30 a.m. to 10:55 a.m.) at IGF with action open to the public.

mike.sawatzky@freepress.mb.ca

Twitter: @sawa14