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Richardson Playing Out a Dream

Rookie defensive tackle Sheldon Richardsonicon-article-link.gif

can’t help but smile.  Richardson, a Missouri product who was selected

No. 13 overall in April’s draft, is playing the game he loves and the

calendar is racing toward his NFL preseason debut in August.

“Pro football has been great.  It’s just a wonderful experience,” he told me

on our most recent “Jets Talk LIVE” installment.  “I mean I’m in the

NFL — that’s what kids dream about.  I’m living it out right now,

embracing the moment.”

At rookie minicamp, Rex Ryan called out

Richardson for his impressive play.  But the competition has been

elevated throughout OTAs as veterans have joined the mix.

“You have your ups and downs, roller coasters,” Richardson said.  “The

playbook is getting there.  They’re picking up their offensive scheme a

lot faster.  Geno is getting a lot faster with his calls and stuff. 

Bullets are flying out there, but for the most part — I’ve been getting

(to) where I need to be at.”

Many pundits questioned Richardson’s

fit with the Jets, deeming the 6’3”, 294-pounder was best suited to be a

one-gap lineman in a 4-3 front.  But Ryan promised that Jets will

employ multiple fronts and move Richardson around.  And they have done

just that this spring.

“Everywhere,” he said when I asked him

where he was being used.  “A little end, a little three tech(nique), a

little nose, shade,  all that…   The only thing I haven’t done yet is

play rush, so I pretty much have my hand in the dirt.”

After

totaling 112 tackles (54 solos), six sacks and four forced fumbles in

two seasons at Mizzou, Richardson spoke about the most difficult aspect

of the pro transition.

“Adjusting from a 4-3 to a 3-4, playing

nose and learning the terminology,” he said.  “You get set in your ways

in college and it’s like a second language for you.  It’s like breathing

almost and it’s kind of repetitive. You just have to get used to what

the coaches are saying and understanding what they mean and pick it up

fast because it’s the NFL.  You don’t have time for mistakes, shorter

reps.”

Richardson possesses rare athleticism.  In a game against

Texas A&M last season, the Missouri coaching staff had Richardson

spy future Heisman Trophy Winner Johnny Manziel.  The Aggies won in a

rout, but Manziel didn’t go crazy on the ground as he was held to 67

yards on 12 carries.

“I told him I’ll do the job, but I wanted to

rush him,” said Richardson of the task of keeping an eye on the 6’1”,

200-pound QB.  “I wanted to get after him a little bit more than what I

did, but somebody said he had one of his top two worst rushing games in

his season.  I did my job, but it was a blowout so I don’t even look at

what my stats were.  We didn’t win and it was worth nothing to me.  If

you don’t win in the end, I’m all about winning.  I want to be labeled

as a winner.”

Nicknamed “Boss Hogg” when he was played high

school ball at Gateway Technical in St. Louis, MO, Richardson returned

kicks & punt returns on special teams and played slot receiver,

tight end, fullback, running back and middle linebacker.

“I

played everything.  I was a hog out there on the field.  I ran over kids

that were bigger than me and smaller than me — it didn’t matter,” he

said.  "I just ran everybody over.  I was determined to win.  I still am

to this day and I just take it and run with it.  I make sure that drive

is still with me wherever I go in life.”

The rookie has gained a new responsibility this offseason and it 

involves a little additional lifting.

“They

have me on helmet duty right now, so I had to bring in like four or

five helmets today,” said Richardson.  “It’s just been great.  Mo

(Wilkerson) and Q (Coples) are helping me out a lot — Mo more so than

Q.  Just watching his film and seeing how he moves and getting his

technique down.  I just have to learn and pretty much make it my own

like I always do.”

 

> http://www.newyorkjets.com/news/article-insidewithea/-Richardson-Playing-Out-a-Dream/e3e452b5-0f6f-4447-8201-e25e772950ed

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The New York Jets decided to take Sheldon Richardson instead of Star
Lotulelei, who was promptly scooped up by the Carolina Panthers, in the
2013 NFL Draft to fill their void at defensive tackle. The Jets have a
strong group of young players in the front seven in Muhammad Wilkerson,

who has been helping out Richardson, Quinton Coples, last year’s first-round

pick who is in line for time as a 3-4 OLB, and now Richardson.


7336666-300x375.jpg

Expected to be a three technique in the NFL, Richardson actually
lined up as a nose tackle on the first day of rookie minicamp with the
Jets. It seems like the Jets view Richardson as a versatile defensive
lineman, and it will be interesting to see how often the Jets move him
around. I would think that Richardson would settle in as a 3-4 DE or 4-3
DT, but Jets head coach Rex Ryan believes that Richardson can play as a
three, five, or one technique (nose).


Richardson told the Jets official site on
where the Jets have been playing him. “Everywhere. A little end, a
little three tech(nique), a little nose, shade,  all that…   The only
thing I haven’t done yet is play rush, so I pretty much have my hand in
the dirt.”


He also talked about adjusting the pros, and it sounds like the Jets
have big plans for Richardson next season as a guy who can move around
the formation and play in different fronts. The Jets will likely run
both four and three-man fronts in 2013, so that’s something to watch for
with Richardson. I think there will be some growing pains, but
Richardson has a ton of upside and can be a quality run defender and
high-impact pass rusher for the Jets. He’s ideally a three-technique,
but it is interesting to see that the Jets and Ryan are confident in his
ability to play all over the place.

 

> http://musketfire.com/2013/06/03/new-york-jets-using-sheldon-richardson-everywhere/

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- Learning all the intricacies of the different positions on the defensive line has Jets first-round pick Sheldon Richardson feeling like he's back at the University of Missouri."It's like college a little bit, but way more intense and a whole lot faster," Richardson said Wednesday. "I'm adjusting to it on the fly and I'm starting to get a little more fluid out there. The game's starting to slowly come into my own, but it will take a while. It's coming along good, though."

Promising defensive lineman Sheldon Richardson says his time at Missouri prepared him for the demands of OTAs.As the Jets prepare to wrap up organized team activities and begin their three-day minicamp starting June 11, Richardson's versatility has been put to the test as the team has used him in various positions. Richardson played defensive tackle in college and projects to be an inside pass-rusher for the Jets."It's always a challenge at first," said Richardson, the 13th overall pick in this year's draft. "It's repetition to get it right, for me anyway. That's how I learn -- through our repetition."In their base package, the Jets run a 3-4, which would project to have Kenrick Ellis as the nose tackle, and Richardson and Muhammad Wilkerson serving as the ends. 

Since the Jets use multiple fronts and will switch to 4-3 packages, Richardson has to be able to move around. In a 4-3, the team would likely make him one of two interior pass-rushers alongside Wilkerson.Richardson said he's catching up on the various calls and checks the team uses for the different spots on the defensive line, and has noticed they come faster than what he has experienced. He added there's a lot more to remember, but embraces the challenge. 

The first-rounder primarily played in a 4-3 with Missouri, but he also saw time in a 3-4, including at nose tackle. He credits the Tigers with helping him transition to the NFL."My preparation to the NFL was pretty legit at Mizzou. They prepared us well, even though the season didn't go where we wanted, but they got us right," Richardson said. "I came here, I was in shape, I followed my training and stuck to my work ethic and pretty much everything I learned at Mizzou: Start fast and finish strong. And that's how I plan on doing throughout my career." 

In his short time with the Jets, Richardson has already made an impression on head coach Rex Ryan with the zeal he has displayed during the voluntary practices."It's not hard to recognize a guy that plays with that kind of energy, that kind of enthusiasm," Ryan said. "We talk about it here, playing like a Jet. Nobody likes that term, but it's a huge term to us. And sometimes when you go out, you send scouts out, you talk about that we shouldn't have to teach desire and effort and all of that type of stuff. Certainly this is a guy you don't have to worry about." 

He added: "It's not surprising that we're seeing what we're seeing. He just jumps in there. You put him all over the place and he's just hitting and he's going 100 mph."

 

http://espn.go.com/blog/new-york/jets/post/_/id/23704/richardson-brings-intriguing-mix-to-otas

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