OSUBasketballJunkie
Never Forget 31-0
Dispatch
4/22/06
4/22/06
Richardson steps to fore
Defensive end wants to fulfill expectations in his senior season
Sunday, April 23, 2006
Bill Rabinowitz
THE COLUMBUS DISPATCH
<!--PHOTOS--><TABLE class=phototableright align=right border=0><!-- begin large ad code --><TBODY><TR><TD><TABLE align=center><TBODY><TR><TD align=middle></IMG> </TD></TR><TR><TD class=credit width=200>NEAL C . LAURON DISPATCH </TD></TR><TR><TD class=cutline width=200>Ohio State players take the field for the annual Scarlet and Gray spring game in Ohio Stadium. A crowd of 63,649 enjoyed sunny skies and warm temperatures, quite a contrast to last year, when the game was played in cold and rainy weather. </TD></TR><TR><TD align=middle></IMG> </TD></TR><TR><TD class=credit width=200>LISA MARIE MILLER DISPATCH </TD></TR><TR><TD class=cutline width=200>Jay Richardson loses his helmet but still gets one of his two sacks for the Scarlet team in Ohio State’s spring game as he corrals Justin Zwick in the first half. </TD></TR></TBODY></TABLE></TD></TR></TBODY></TABLE>
On the sideline, the former Ohio State players prodded Jay Richardson.
They know, as Richardson does, that his career at Ohio State has been more about potential than production. They know that, as a senior, the time for him to become a consistently dominating player has arrived.
"We had a few guys on the sideline getting in my ear a little bit, saying, ‘Whatcha gonna do?’ Are you going to make some plays?" Richardson said with a smile, mentioning Le-Charles Bentley and Will Smith specifically. "I really wanted to go out there and show them I can play."
That he did. Playing only the first half of the Scarlet and Gray game yesterday, the defensive end had two sacks to help the Scarlet to a 12-0 victory. One of them came after his helmet had flown off.
"I got a hand in my face and got my helmet torn off," Richardson said, "but that doesn’t matter. You’ve got to keep playing. On the second one, I came off the edge and I think (the offensive tackle) slipped a little bit. But it counts."
What matters, of course, is what happens in September, not April. But he seems determined to seize the moment.
"Jay has embraced the leadership role that we ask of our older guys," Ohio State coach Jim Tressel said. "He’s very talented.
I’ve seen more consistency from him this spring. Sometimes opportunity creates that. We’re expecting to be good up front, and we need all those older guys to step up and Jay’s been doing that."
Sophomore defensive end Lawrence Wilson said he can sense a change in Richardson from last year.
"Oh, definitely, I see a different Jay," Wilson said. "Jay’s leading us right now. He’s telling me what to do, telling me to keep my head up. I’m learning from Jay a lot. I really appreciate how he’s leading us."
Asked to describe his career so far, Richardson replied, "Solid, up and down.
A lot of promise, but things haven’t gone exactly the way I wanted."
A Dublin native, Richardson has had to hear about that quite a bit from people around town.
"You hear, ‘You’re doing all right, doing all right,’ " he said. "But you don’t want to just be OK. You want to be great."
With both defensive ends among the nine defensive starters the Buckeyes must replace, Richardson knows the opportunity is there.
"If it’s going to happen, it’s got to happen now," he said. "I just really want to get off to a good start to my senior season. I think today was a good start."
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