The Cardinal Countdown: 90 Days Until Kickoff

#90 Johnny Richardson

Class: RS Sophomore

Ht/Wt: 6-3/322

Position: Defensive End/Nose Tackle

Hometown: Jacksonville, FL

Twitter: N/A

Thoughts: Even though depth seems to be one of the bright spots amongst the stellar front seven the Cards will field this year there are certain positions, in my opinion, where depth is much more important than others. Nose tackle is one of those positions. If you watched the Cards last season (let’s assume if you found your way to this page you probably saw a few plays) you know that the NT is the anchor of sorts for the defensive front, especially with Grantham. The responsibilities of the NT in the 3-4 cannot be understated and DeAngelo Brown and Pio killed it last year. While I wouldn’t anticipate a drop-off in 2015, Richardson is more than capable of filling in for Brown when necessary. More importantly, Johnny needs to continue to show signs of improvement as he quickly become THE MAN leading the middle of the defense if something were to happen to Brown this year or at a minimum as he prepares to step into the role in 2016. While it may be a unique award, Richardson is the earlier leader in the clubhouse for my favorite Cardinal non-starter. Sorry Johnny, nothing to put in the trophy case for that one.

Sweet Tweet: Johnny actually changed his name last year from De’Asian and as a reminder he actually flipped his commitment from WVU to Louisville after the Sugar Bowl. As someone named John and someone who hates WVU those are two big bonuses in my book. (And for those of you who thought I’d bring up that glorious hair in this post, you were wrong. Pay up suckers. You thought after 4 years of this you knew me but you have no idea. You zig, I zag. I went the whole post and didn’t say one word about his majestic locks of…wait this doesn’t count right?…Dammit!)