Gateway Tech senior Sheldon Richardson said the words on Sunday that University of Missouri football fans have been waiting to hear for several months.
Richardson said he is going to be a Tiger and is done with recruiting.
“There wasn’t a need for me to play around anymore — Mizzou is home,” Richardson said after returning from his official visit to Columbia this weekend. “It felt for me like when I committed the first time when I went up there. It just felt like home. I fit in perfect.”
Gateway Tech's Sheldon Richardson (Christian Gooden/P-D)
A 6-foot-4, 270-pound tight end/defensive end, Richardson is ranked by Rivals.com as the fourth-best prospect nationally in the senior class, which would make him the highest-rated recruit to commit to the Tigers during coach Gary Pinkel’s tenure.
Richardson committed to Pinkel back in June of 2007, before the start of his junior year of high school. Earlier this year, he talked about looking at some other schools to make sure that Missouri was the right fit for him.
He took an official visit to Minnesota and had planned to make trips to Miami and either Arkansas or Florida in January. Two weeks ago he told the Post-Dispatch he was still “somewhat committed” to the Tigers, with the emphasis on the “somewhat” part.
Richardson said on Sunday that his concern with Missouri was about what position the Tigers coaching staff wanted him to play in Columbia.
There are different theories on what position he would be best suited for: Rivals.com ranks him as a defensive tackle, Scout.com ranks him as an offensive guard and ESPN.com ranks him as the third-best tight end in his class.
The Gateway Tech senior is a versatile enough athlete that he played several positions for the Jaguars this past season: defensive end, fullback, linebacker and as a tight end would line up on the line and split out wide. He would also return kickoffs.
“There was never anything wrong with Mizzou, except I didn’t want to play defensive tackle. Now that they want me to play tight end, it’s better. But the defensive coaches still want me to play defensive end.”
The Gateway Tech standout, who also plays basketball, had a strong senior season. He caught 27 passes for 541 yards and three touchdowns, rushed seven times for 57 yards (an average of 8.1 yards per carry) and a touchdown. On defense, he was credited with 88 tackles, 15 sacks, five fumble recoveries and one interception. He scored four touchdowns on returns.
Richardson will get a chance to show off his versatile skills to a national television audience soon when he plays in the U.S. Army All-American Bowl on Jan. 3 in San Antonio.