Jamar Richardson Preparing for First Action as a Rebel after 2019 Redshirt
You don't sign players out of junior college just to sit on the bench. But then again, nothing about Jamar Richardson's journey to seeing his first action in an Ole Miss uniforms has been normal.
"I'm just excited to play," Richardson said on Friday in his first ever Rebel media session. "I committed around like 2017 and it's three years later. I'm just excited to play."
After committing to Ole Miss for the first time in 2016, academic issues kept the three-star cornerback recruit from being able to enroll at Ole Miss as part of that 2017 recruiting class.
Instead, Richardson ended up at Jones College, where he totaled 52 tackles, two sacks, one interception and one fumble recovery in his two seasons.
Finally getting to enroll at Ole Miss as part of the 2019 recruiting class, Richardson never saw action as a junior, his first year at Ole Miss, and was redshirted.
It took the Alabama native some time to become okay with that decision, but in retrospect he looks at the experience in positive light.
"Last year was difficult for me. Coming out of (junior college) I was expected to play, but I couldn't," Richardson said. "But it helped me grow as a football player and as a person. It helped me get the speed to play at the SEC level. After so long, I just accepted the fact that I was redshirted and just started getting into the weight room a little bit and started bonding with a lot of my teammates."
Now, Richardson is expected to finally get his shot. At 5-foot-11 and 175 pounds, he likely won't get a start for the Rebels when they open the season against Florida on Saturday, but he's expected to be a big contributor at cornerback.
In a Rebel secondary with more question marks than solidified starters, Richardson will get as good a chance as anyone in this new-look Ole Miss defense.
In retrospect, Richardson is one of the players who is truly benefiting the most from the free year the NCAA is giving every player due to the COVID-19 pandemic. Theoretically, he could play for this Rebel team every season through 2022 if he wanted to.
"Really, I'm thankful for last year," Richardson said. "It gave me a year just to work on my craft and an extra year to play football... It helped me out and I'm glad I redshirted... it helps me more even now, because now I get three more years to stay here if I want to and not two."
What will the snap count in the Ole Miss secondary look like come Florida in one week? If anyone tells you they know the answer to that other than Chris Partridge or D.J. Durkin, they're lying to you. But you can certainly expect Richardson to get his fair shot.
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