High school

Richardson spent most of his childhood in Mount Pleasant, Tennessee, before moving to Nashville when he was 15. He played high school football and competed in track at Ensworth, a Nashville private school, from 2008 to 2010. During his junior year in 2009, he led an offensive line that did not give up any sacks. Midway through his senior season in 2010, Richardson transferred to Nashville's Pearl-Cohn High School for academic reasons. Due to TSSAA rules, he was ineligible to play for Pearl-Cohn. During his career at Ensworth, Richardson registered 60 pancake blocks.

In track & field, Richardson was one of the state's top performers in the throwing events. At the 2010 Scott Hartman Meet, he placed 4th in the shot put, with a throw of 15.06 meters. He won the discus throw event at the 2010 TSSAA D-II Middle Sectional Championships, recording a top-throw of 49.26 meters.

In spite of missing part of his senior year, Richardson was a consensus four-star prospect. He was rated by Rivals as the top overall prospect in Tennessee, and the seventh-best offensive tackle in the nation. He played in the 2011 U.S. Army All-American Bowl.

College career

Richardson committed to play at Tennessee on February 2, 2011, one of the Vols' highest-rated recruits that year. He played in 12 games as a backup during his freshman year in 2011, including a few snaps as an extra fullback in Tennessee's games against Vanderbilt and Kentucky. As a sophomore in 2012 he started all 12 games at left tackle. He was widely praised for his performance against All-American defensive end Jadeveon Clowney in Tennessee's 38-35 loss to South Carolina. Richardson largely contained Clowney until late in the game, when Clowney managed to elude him and force a game-saving fumble. Richardson was named to the All-SEC Second Team by the Associated Press at the end of the season.

At the start of his junior campaign in 2013, Richardson was named to the Coaches' Preseason All-SEC team, and was placed on the Outland Trophy watch list. He started in all twelve games for the Vols in the 2013 season, helping the Vols' backfield accumulate 2,261 rushing yards, the most for the school since 2004. He was again named second-team All-SEC at the end of the season.

On December 6, 2013, Richardson announced that he would forgo his senior season and enter the 2014 NFL Draft.

Professional career

2014 NFL Draft

In February 2014, Richardson was one of five Tennessee players invited to participate in the 2014 NFL Combine.

Pre-draft measurables

Ht	Wt	Arm length	Hand size	40-yd dash	10-yd split	20-yd split	20-ss	3-cone	Vert	Broad	BP
6 ft 6 in	336 lb	35 in	10 1⁄4 in	5.30 s	1.81 s		5.06 s	8.02 s	31 in	9 ft 4 in	36 reps

Richardson signed with the Minnesota Vikings as an undrafted rookie free agent on May 10, 2014. He retired from the NFL on May 13, 2015.

[ Source: Wikipedia ]