Trent Richardson Highlights 2011 (via TheU305Miami)

5-11, 225, freak of nature.

In 2011, Trent rushed for over 1600 yards at 6 yards per clip. He rushed for 21 TDs and caught 3 more for a total of 24. He played in the toughest, most talented division in college football in the SEC and he was virtually the only real threat on his offense. Needless to say, that kind of production is... impressive.

Sometimes you come across people that were born to do a thing. Well, it isn't hard to tell whats Trent Richardson's thing. Beethoven had music, Shakespear had drama, and Richardson has football. As a running back, he's an absolutely perfect specimen. He has a rugged, compact frame. He has the speed to reach the edge, the quickness make people miss, the strength to move the pile, the power to run through contact, the vision to see daylight, the instincts to anticipate flow, the patience to allow things to develop, the burst to explode to the next level, the hands to make plays in the passing game... and I could go on but my fingers are getting tired.

Yeah yeah, I bloviated a bit over David Wilson. And I still really like Wilson. But lets be serious, Trent Richardson is on another level. Trent is the best back to come along since Adrian Peterson. Trent is better than Peterson. I said it. And I'll say it again, "Trent Richardson is better than Adrian Peterson." And I said IS better, not will be. And thats not because of the knee. Peterson takes on too much contact, in my opinion. He's got this weird thing about proving his machismo or something. But by doing this he not only leaves yards on the field, but he's shortening his career. You'll notice that Trent rarely runs towards contact. He always seems to avoid the big hit with a slight move or jump cut. And when he does take on contact, he's the one doing the hitting. Curtis Martin avoided contact in much the same way. And by avoiding the big hit, he was able to play at a higher level for longer.

Richardson is special. A generational talent. He's sort of some psycho hybrid mix of Emmit Smith, Barry Sanders, Ricky Williams and Marshall Faulk. Want hear a really cool, really crazy stat? Trent Richardson fumbled once in his college career. Don't go back, you read that right. I wrote ONCE. Thats ONCE. In over 500 touches, dude fumbled ONCE. Crazy. Its like God was like, "Ok... gotta give him one or everybody's gonna know."

You can put Trent in the power-I, line him up in a single-back shot-gun, stick him in the slot... It doesn't matter. He can do it all. Dude was born to ball. He busts runs with good blocking, he busts runs with no blocking (see "the run" vs Ole Miss). He can burst to the edge or pick his way through traffic. He can run around you, by you, or through you. Trent Richardson can do his thing.