Nu’Keese Richardson laments spurning Gators

By Adam Silverstein
April 20, 2010

If he could do it all again, Hampton Pirates wide receiver Nu’Keese Richardson would never have decommitted from the Florida Gators to join the Tennessee Volunteers back in 2009. At least that is what he told the Palm Beach Post’s Jason Lieser in a wide-ranging interview he conducted this week.

“In an informal interview setting, Richardson mentioned how much he regrets spurning Urban Meyer and Florida,” Lieser writes. “He said the biggest reason he opted against Florida was the fact that former Pahokee teammate Janoris Jenkins was already there and Richardson felt he would be stuck in Jenkins’ shadow if he signed.

“However, he said if he had been a Gator, he never would have gotten in trouble. The reason? Jenkins. Richardson believes Jenkins would have watched over him closely and kept him away from problematic situations.”

One of the reasons for Richardson’s decommitment was a promise of immediate playing time by then-Tennessee head coach Lane Kiffin. That never came to fruition and Richardson seemed to know it right away.

“Yeah, [playing time] definitely was [the main issue]. I felt like I was the best player at the time and I felt like [Kiffin] was just holding me back,” Richardson said. “This is something I do. I felt like, if I wanted to do this, I could’ve stayed at Florida.”

Check out what else Richardson had to say…after the jump!

Gators fans were quick to turn on Richardson when he became a member of the Volunteers’ 2010 class. A few even found some semblance of joy in his arrest.

“Richardson’s lack of character was obvious last January,” wrote one OGGOA reader. “Now [it is even] more obvious. Let’s see how many more recruits choose to follow these three crooks to Tennessee.”

Say what you will about Richardson’s decision-making, the former high school star is intently trying to turn his life around and start anew at Hampton this season.

“Right now, my head’s good. I’m in love with Hampton. I’m growing up now,” he said. “I’ve been through a lot of things in life and it’s really opened my eyes. It’s bigger than just football right now.”

Read more about Richardson’s past and future including details about the attempted robbery and his penchant for smoking marijuana in this interview by Post.

Photo Credit: Associated Press

10 Comments

  1. Daniel M. says:

    Wait a second? You mean to tell me that Lame lied to this kid? Shocking!

    Would have been in Jenkins shadow? I’ll put that in the “bullshit answer” file thank you.

    You switched because you were fed a line by the pathological snake oil salesman Nuke. Good luck son.

  2. Alex says:

    Playing time would have not been an issue last year, we needed playmakers at the P(Percy)-Position especially since Debose went down with the Hamstring Injury.

    Bad move, but I doubt that he would’ve stayed out of trouble just because he went to Florida. Just like anywhere else in the world, if you get involved with stupid people you will eventually slam head first into sh*tty situations.

  3. SaraGator says:

    This is great for recruiting!

    Glad to hear he’s trying to turn his life around. Hope he stays in the right track.

  4. ReptilesRule says:

    Kiffin made it out that Nuke was gonna be THE STAR right out of the gate his freshman year and Nuke was gullible and egotistical enough to swallow it whole. Kiffin may be a substandard HC but he’s a great used car salesman…with my apologies to the used car salesmen out there…Hope there’s a lesson out there for other recruits…Beware if you’re being oversold…in buying a car OR in recruiting….

  5. g8ter27 says:

    Well I wish him luck and wish I could say I don’t find some humor i this now but….the way he spurned Florida, remember the “go back and tell everyone in Florida you are still committed so they won’t bother you” after he gave his new verbal to Kiffin? In that interview he seemed to be glowing of how coy he was so good luck being a pirate Nuke.

  6. ZURBO says:

    oh yeah, cause Janoris is a saint also….

  7. npgator says:

    Zurbo – not sure I know what you are talking about but Jenkis is alright. I for one felt bad for him when he got arrested but there were signs prior to that indicating that he was not happy up there. Kiffin is nothing but a snake oil salesman who has worked his way up through losing records – go figure. In most case performance is the price of admission but not for Lane.

  8. He’s probably referring to how Jenkins resisted arrest outside of a bar in June. Very overblown story at the time.

  9. Rich says:

    You know it takes a big person to admit he was wrong. I say give the kid a pass. I wanted him to be a Gator, I was upset he backed off at the last minute but I also know there are a lot of things going on in a 18-year old’s head. He admitted he made a mistake and I wish him nothing but the best.

  10. FloridaMITCHELL says:

    I agree with Rich, don’t forget that Richardson is just a kid. He made a mistake and it seems like he’s trying to get on the right track, I hope he’s successful and makes it to the NFL

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