Tre Richardson Breaks out In Vanderbilt win over Virginia Tech

Blacksburg, VA—The lights were nowhere near this bright a year ago as Tre Richardson suited up nearly 1,000 miles away from Virginia Tech’s Lane Stadium and took the field in front of a sparsely populated crowd, but one thing didn’t change.

Tre Richardson is still Tre Richardson regardless of what the crowd looks like. The Vanderbilt receiver may have been unsure of how his skillset would impact Vanderbilt’s matchup with Virginia Tech and the sold-out crowd on hand, but he wouldn’t have done what he did on Saturday night without a little bit of underdog in him.

“Coming here I was a little nervous about moving up to this level,” Richardson said Saturday night from Vanderbilt’s cramped media room in the basement of Lane Stadium. “Having the teammates bring me in and hold me accountable and help me get up to that level, feels good to play in front of everybody and show what I can do.”

If anyone in the building didn’t have an impression of Richardson before his Saturday-night performance, they certainly did after as he went for 54 yards on three receptions and racked up 32 rushing yards on two carries.

It was all on display on Saturday for Richardson as he showcased his speed, difficult catch ability and ability to make defenders miss in the open field. Two of his three best qualities were on display as he looked at Vanderbilt quarterback Diego Pavia and knew nearly immediately that he would be on the receiving end of a potential long throw in man coverage.

Richardson’s route quickly faded him towards the pylon while he subsequently played hand tag with Virginia Tech cornerback Caleb Brown and freed up one of his hands while Pavia’s throw descended towards the pylon. From there, it was all up to Richardson.

“[Brown] was tugging my arm, so I only had one hand to catch it,” Richardson said. “Once I grabbed it and just hugged it in. I knew it was a touchdown.”

As Vanderbilt waited on the sideline and the officials reviewed Richardson’s catch–which was reminiscent of a catch earlier in Vanderbilt’s drive–to determine if it was a touchdown or not, he walked around with his hands up as to indicate that he knew he would be rewarded for his circus catch.

Even if Richardson hadn’t made the play, Vanderbilt would’ve taken something from the play. In the past, Clark Lea teams haven’t had a guy that their quarterbacks trust enough to fire a ball downfield to and have confidence that it’s going to connect.

Richardson is dynamic in a way that very few Vanderbilt receivers have been in recent memory. Vanderbilt doesn’t need a touchdown catch to know that.

“He’s a weapon,” Lea said. “He’s fast. He has really good ball skills, the contested catch for the touchdown was an awesome play and it was a great throw. Diego is confident in Tre and puts the ball on him. He’s been a great addition to a room that’s very strong.”

Richardson said in the fall that he’s the speed guy that Vanderbilt needs. While it may have sounded cocky in the moment, it turns out that he was right.