Early years

Richardson was born in Pensacola, Florida. He attended Escambia High School in Pensacola, the same high school as former Cleveland Browns teammate Ahtyba Rubin, where he finished his senior season with 2,100 yards on 228 carries scoring 25 touchdowns. In a game against Milton High School in September 2008, Richardson rushed for 419 yards on 29 carries and scored six touchdowns, a performance that earned him a selection as the first ESPN RISE National Football Player of the Week. As a junior, Richardson also reached the 400-yard plateau, as he ran for 407 yards in his opening game against Tate High School. He finished his junior season (8 games) with 1,390 yards and 13 touchdowns, and received FSWA All-State 5A second team honors. He sat out his second year due to an injury. He made the FSWA 5A All-State First Team as a senior, and was named 5A Florida Player of the Year and a finalist for the 2008 Mr. Football. Richardson also received consensus All-American honors and was named to the Orlando Sentinel's All Southern Team (Florida).

Richardson also lettered in track & field at Escambia. In 2008, he captured a regional title in the 100-meter dash (10.81 s) and placed 5th at the state meet with a time of 10.9 seconds (World-class sprinter Jeff Demps won the event). He owned a personal-best time of 10.5 seconds in the 100 meters. In addition, he also participated in the long jump event and had a best-mark of 6.55 meters.

Recruiting

Richardson was frequently compared to Emmit Smith, who also starred at Escambia (1987 graduate), but his physique and running style are more similar to Earl Campbell. Richardson also drew comparisons to Michael Turner and O.J. Simpson. Considered a five-star recruit by Rivals.com, Richardson was listed as the No. 2 running back prospect in the nation (behind only Bryce Brown). He chose Alabama over Florida, Florida State, and LSU, among others.

Name	Home town	High school / college	Height	Weight	40‡	Commit date
Trent Richardson RB	Pensacola, Florida	Escambia	5 ft 11 in (1.80 m)	225 lb (102 kg)	4.32	Jun 2, 2008
	Scout: Rivals: 247Sports: N/A ESPN grade: 91
Overall recruiting rankings: Scout: 2 (RB) Rivals: 2 (RB) ESPN: 1 (RB)
Note: In many cases, Scout, Rivals, 247Sports, and ESPN may conflict in their listings of height and weight. In these cases, the average was taken. ESPN grades are on a 100-point scale. Sources: "Alabama Football Commitments". Rivals.com. Retrieved 2011-12-13. "2009 Alabama Football Commits". Scout.com. Retrieved 2011-12-13. "ESPN". ESPN.com. Retrieved 2011-12-13. "Scout.com Team Recruiting Rankings". Scout.com. Retrieved 2011-12-13. "2009 Team Ranking". Rivals.com. Retrieved 2011-12-13.

College career

Richardson accepted an athletic scholarship to attend the University of Alabama, where he played for coach Nick Saban's Alabama Crimson Tide football team from 2009 to 2011.

2009

In his first year at Alabama, Richardson stepped in quickly for the departed Glen Coffee, and shared time at the tailback position with Roy Upchurch and Mark Ingram, Jr. When recruited, Crimson Tide coach Nick Saban called Richardson, "the real key to the class," and "an outstanding player at a position that a young player can contribute next year."

Richardson was named SEC Freshman of the Week for Week 2 and Week 4. Richardson was also named to the 2009 SEC All-Freshman team alongside Barrett Jones and Nico Johnson. He also contributed significantly in the 2010 BCS National Championship with 109 yards rushing and 2 touchdowns. For the season he had 145 carries for 751 yards rushing and 8 touchdowns. He also had 126 yards receiving on the season.

2010

Richardson started the first two games of the season with Mark Ingram sitting out due to an injury. In the season opener, he had 10 carries for 66 yards and 2 touchdowns. He also had 3 receptions for 46 yards. The following week against Penn State, he ran for a career-high 144 yards on 22 carries and a touchdown. He also had 4 catches for 46 yards. Trent was named Co-SEC Offensive Player of the Week for his efforts.

For the season he had 112 carries for 700 yards rushing and 6 touchdowns and 266 yards receiving and 4 touchdowns. Richardson also had 634 kick return yards with a touchdown on the year.

2011

With the departure of Mark Ingram to the NFL, Richardson took over the starting role at running back. During the season Richardson ran for over 100 yards in nine games. He tied Shaun Alexander with six consecutive 100-yard rushing games. He scored two or more touchdowns in seven games. He set a career high against Ole Miss running for 183 yards and four touchdowns. In the Iron Bowl, Richardson ran for a new career high of 203 yards. He won the Doak Walker Award becoming the first player from Alabama to win. He finished third in the Heisman Trophy voting behind eventual winner Robert Griffin III and Andrew Luck. In the 2012 BCS National Championship Game, Richardson rushed for 96 yards and a touchdown to secure his second national championship with the Crimson Tide.

For the season Richardson had 1,679 rushing yards, breaking Mark Ingram's record for most rushing yards in a season, and 21 rushing touchdowns. His 21 rushing touchdowns was also an SEC running back record. He also had 338 receiving yards with three touchdowns, making his season total touchdowns 24 which tied Shaun Alexander's SEC record. On January 12, 2012, Richardson declared for the 2012 NFL Draft, thus forgoing his final year of collegiate eligibility. At the time of his announcement, he was projected as a first round pick and the top running back prospect in the draft.

College career statistics

Year	GP-GS	Rushing								Receiving						Kick Returns
		Att	Gain	Loss	Net	Avg	TD	Long	Avg/G	Rec	Rec-Yards	Avg	TD	Long	Avg/G	No.	Yards	Avg	TD	Long
2009	14-0	145	784	33	751	5.2	8	52	53.6	16	126	7.9	0	17	9.0	1	20	20	0	20
2010	11-2	112	719	19	700	6.2	6	65	53.8	23	266	11.6	4	85	24.2	24	634	26.4	1	91
2011	13-13	283	1740	61	1,679	5.9	21	76	129.2	29	338	11.7	3	61	26.0	3	66	22.0	0	24
Total*	38-15	540	3243	113	3,130	5.8	35	76	75.9	64	730	10.4	7	85	20.3	28	720	25.7	1	91

Professional career

2012 NFL Draft

Entering his junior season, Richardson was widely regarded as the best running back available in the 2012 NFL Draft, and he cemented his reputation with strong play over the course of the year. After undergoing a minor knee surgery in February 2012, Richardson did not participate in drills at the 2012 NFL Combine. He later also decided to skip workouts at the Alabama Pro Day on March 7. Richardson held his own Pro Day on March 27.

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
5 ft 9¼ in	228 lb	30¼ in	9½ in	4.53 s	1.49 s	2.59 s	3.87 s		37 in		25 reps

By March 2012, Richardson was widely projected to be a top six draft choice, with the Cleveland Browns, Tampa Bay Buccaneers, and St. Louis Rams rumored to be most interested in selecting him. Former Colts vice chairman Bill Polian called him one of the "three sure-thing players" in the 2012 draft.

Richardson was eventually selected third overall by the Cleveland Browns, after they had traded picks with the Minnesota Vikings to select him ahead of the Tampa Bay Buccaneers. Richardson was the highest selected running back since Reggie Bush went second overall in 2006. The Browns had not selected a running back in the first round since William Green in 2002. On July 23, Richardson and the Cleveland Browns agreed to a four-year, $20.4 million contract (fully guaranteed) with a $13.3 million signing bonus.

Cleveland Browns

2012

On August 9, 2012, Richardson underwent arthroscopic surgery to remove some cartilage fragments in his left knee. Richardson missed the entire preseason, but returned for the season opener. In his debut against the Philadelphia Eagles, he rushed for 39 yards on 19 carries, being limited in his touches after having just come off the disabled list. The following week, in a 24-34 loss against the Cincinnati Bengals, he rushed for 109 yards and a touchdown on 19 carries. He also had 4 receptions for 36 yards and a receiving touchdown. He was the first Browns rookie to rush for over 100 yards and score rushing and receiving touchdowns, all in the same game. During Week 13, against the Kansas City Chiefs, Richardson rushed for 42 yards and 2 touchdowns, tying Jim Brown's franchise rookie record of 9 touchdowns.

2013

Prior to the 2013 season, Richardson was voted No. 71 out of the top 100 in the NFL by fellow players. Richardson would only play 2 games for the Browns in 2013. He rushed for 105 yards on 31 carries.

Indianapolis Colts

2013

On September 18, 2013, Richardson was traded to the Indianapolis Colts for a 2014 first-round draft pick. The Colts were looking for a running back after a season-ending injury to Vick Ballard.

In his first carry as a Colt, Richardson scored a touchdown against the San Francisco 49ers. He struggled through most of the season and was demoted in favor of Donald Brown on December 1, 2013. Richardson returned to his starting role in the Colts week 15 game against the Houston Texans when Brown left due to injury, and recorded his first touchdown since week 4 against Jacksonville.

Richardson fumbled on his first career playoff carry against the Kansas City Chiefs in the Colts' Wild Card game.

2014

Richardson began the season splitting carries with running back Ahmad Bradshaw, limiting his carries and yardage totals. Bradshaw was injured in a Week 11 game against the New England Patriots, making Richardson the lead back. However, after Week 13, Dan Herron replaced Richardson as the Colts' primary running back after totaling 88 yards on just eight carries, including a 49-yard touchdown run.

In the 2014-15 NFL playoffs, Richardson was not active for Indianapolis' final two playoff games. He was suspended by the team for the AFC Championship Game after he missed walkthrough for what he called a "family emergency" and did not alert the team.

On March 12, 2015, the Colts waived Richardson.

Oakland Raiders

2015

On March 17, 2015, Richardson signed a two-year, $3,850,000 contract with the Oakland Raiders. The deal included $600,000 guaranteed. He missed the first part of training camp due to a bout with pneumonia. On August 31, 2015, Richardson was released.

Baltimore Ravens

2016

On April 18, 2016, Richardson signed with the Baltimore Ravens.

Career statistics

Regular season

Season	Team	Games		Rushing					Receiving					Fumbles
		GP	GS	Att	Yds	Avg	Lng	TD	Rec	Yds	Avg	Lng	TD	FUM	Lost
2012	Cleveland Browns	15	15	267	950	3.6	32T	11	51	367	7.2	27	1	3	0
2013	Cleveland Browns	2	2	31	105	3.4	10	0	7	51	7.3	18	0	-	-
2013	Indianapolis Colts	14	8	157	458	2.9	22	3	28	265	9.5	24	1	2	1
2014	Indianapolis Colts	15	12	159	519	3.3	27	3	27	229	8.5	24	0	2	1
	Total	46	37	614	2,032	3.3	32	17	113	912	8.1	27	2	7	2

Postseason

Season	Team	Games		Rushing					Receiving					Fumbles
		GP	GS	Att	Yds	Avg	Lng	TD	Rec	Yds	Avg	Lng	TD	FUM	Lost
2013	Indianapolis Colts	2	0	4	1	0.2	2	0	-	-	-	-	-	1	1
2014	Indianapolis Colts	1	0	0	0	0	-	0	-	-	-	-	-	0	0
	Total	3	0	4	1	0.2	2	0	-	-	-	-	-	1	1

Personal life

Richardson has two daughters: Taliyah and Elevera. Richardson's first son was born October 5, 2012.

On April 13, 2012, he took leukemia survivor Courtney Alvis to her senior prom at Hueytown High School.

[ Source: Wikipedia ]