Richardson's recruitment ends where it all began with WVU

SUBSCRIBE today to stay up on the latest in Mountaineer sports and recruiting.

Amir Richardson doesn’t need any reminders when West Virginia offered him a scholarship.

No, the in-state legacy prospect has memorized the date and moment down to every detail and for good reason. He vividly recalls defensive coordinator Tony Gibson walking the halls of his high school and then being called out of class and the conversation with his coach that would change everything.

The Mountaineers, the home-state school that Richardson had grown up following, was offering him not only a scholarship but becoming the first program to do so.

A landmark moment in the recruitment of any prospect, but perhaps a little more special given the fact that he grew up in the shadows of Mountaineer Field and his father Tony suited up for the program.

“It meant everything to me I still remember it was May 24,” Richardson said. “I was in second period; I remember it like it was yesterday.”

That longevity, and proximity for that matter, paid off in the pursuit of Richardson when he stepped in front of the University auditorium and unveiled a West Virginia t-shirt and committed to the state’s flagship program by simply saying ‘I’m staying home, baby!”

“They were first and growing up in West Virginia of course you want to go to West Virginia,” he said. “My heart was always where the home is and that’s where West Virginia is.”

Now, that’s not to say that Richardson didn’t take his time sorting out his options and visiting programs to get all of his questions answered but in the end the process brought him back where he started.

Richardson has been a regular visitor to campus over his high school career given the proximity and his ties to the program so he’s been able to get a first-hand look at the program and how he could mesh into all of the working pieces.

“I can play power five football, stay home and still see my mother every week and my family can come to my home games,” he said. “The type of football at West Virginia, the fans are amazing.”

Underlining it all was the undeniable family connection and how Richardson could follow in the footsteps of his father who played as a defensive tackle in the 90’s. He didn’t need to do much convincing when he informed the elder Richardson of his intentions.

“My dad of course loved it. Playing at the same school he was at is big,” he said. “My mother wanted me to stay home and we have a lot of West Virginia pride.”

A high school wide receiver, Richardson will be used on the defensive side in Morgantown and is likely set to drop down to a linebacker as he adds weight. Another family connection could help aide him there considering his older brother Tony, who played at VMI, was a college linebacker.

While currently at 6-foot-2, 202-pounds, Richardson is expecting to add around 25-pounds at the college level and that would put him around the same size as his brother.

But before that happens, Richardson has to work on some aspects of his game on the defensive side before he arrives on campus in order to step in and compete immediately.

“I’ve got to be ready to play for coach (Tony) Gibson so instead of catching touchdowns I’ve got to worry about coming up and laying the wood,” he said.

While Richardson announced his college choice publicly Sunday, he had already informed the West Virginia coaches a week ago and that was only reinforced when he was back on campus for the Showtime Camp. There he had the chance to finalize his feelings on the subject.

“Just meeting all the guys and seeing all the fun the players have with each other,” he said. “Once I put that jersey on that’s where I knew I wanted to play.”

Enter the contest by clicking on the following link and choosing to subscribe to the channel: http://www.youtube.com/subscription_center?add_user=VideoGlide