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Taz is the man with the hands
Mauldin (SC) wideout's
repertoire includes extraordinary pass-catching skills
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By
Sammy Batten
©2014 Bonesville.net
All rights reserved.
Recruiting Class of 2015 Thumbnail Sketches...
Often during the recruitment of one
player, college football coaches discover another prospect who they wind
up pursuing as well.
Such was the case for East Carolina
last fall as it went about the process of recruiting and signing Mauldin
(SC) High School quarterback
Dre Massey. Massey was one of the most productive
offensive players in the entire state as a senior, amassing 4,836 yards
of total offense and accounting for 62 touchdowns.
While trying to secure Massey's
talents, ECU discovered another gifted athlete in wide receiver Taz
Richardson.
"I tell our kids all the time that
you have to play hard all the time in every game because you never know
who's watching,'' Mauldin coach Lee Taylor said. "They (ECU) coaches
came to see us play and were watching Dre on film and said, 'Who is that
No. 16?' That's how he (Richardson) got his name out there.''
Richardson was the beneficiary of
Massey's passing skills, setting school single-season records for
receptions (70) and receiving yardage (1,068) while scoring nine
touchdowns. He also rushed for 90 yards on 11 carries, averaged 17.8 and
scored a touchdown on six punt returns, and averaged 23.2 yards on 17
kickoff returns.
The performance was good enough for
the Pirates to invite Richardson to their spring football scrimmage in
April. He attended with Massey and was offered a scholarship by the
coaching staff. The 6-foot-1, 180-pounder accepted on May 28 over an
offer from Charlotte to become the sixth member of ECU's recruiting
Class of 2014.
Taylor wasn't surprised by the early
decision because of Richardson's personality and relationship with
Massey.
"Taz is the type of kid who doesn't
like the spotlight on him at all,'' Taylor said. "He committed, in part,
to take the pressure off him going into his senior season. I also know
that Dre had an influence on him, without a doubt. I think they have a
great friendship and it's great they'll be able to play together at
least for three more years.
"It was a great choice (by
Richardson),'' he said. "I texted him the night he committed and told
him I was proud of him and proud of the decision he'd made.''
Richardson will join not only Massey
at East Carolina, but another former Mauldin player as well in the
Pirates' starting center, Taylor Hudson. Hudson, a rising senior,
originally tipped off the ECU staff about Massey.
Hudson was as freshman at ECU when a
rail-thin, 160-pound Richardson reported for Mauldin's preseason
football practice in 2011. Although he displayed promise as a ninth
grader, Richardson would spend that season playing for the "C'' or
freshman team.
"He was a skinny kid in the ninth
grade,'' Taylor said. "But he had good speed for a ninth grader, and he
had great hands, which he still does. We noticed immediately that he
caught everything with his hands. A lot of young kids like to cradle the
ball into their bodies. But Taz, as a young guy, caught the ball with
his hands. We knew right then he had ability.''
Because of his hands, and in spite of
his slender build, Richardson skipped junior varsity ball and headed
straight to the Mauldin varsity as a sophomore. Playing against some of
the toughest competition in the South Carolina high school ranks,
Richardson produced 39 catches for 469 yards and nine touchdowns as the
Mavericks posted a 4-7 record.
The attention received due to his
sophomore performance inspired a new intensity in Richardson's
off-season training, according to Taylor. The result saw Richardson
mature from the skinny freshman to a stronger, bigger athlete for his
junior season.
"He really worked hard in the off
season between his sophomore and junior years,'' Taylor said. "The
results were easy to see on the field. Taz had a great junior season.''
Richardson was especially impressive
during a stretch late in the year against Gaffney, Riverside and Byrnes.
During those three games, Richardson accumulated 33 catches for 404
yards and two touchdowns. He registered 12 of his receptions against
Gaffney for 166 yards, but play in that game in particular left an
impression on Taylor.
"I think it was a third-and-long
play,'' Taylor said. "The route Taz was on was a straight fly down the
field. He was covered pretty well. But Dre threw the ball to him — and
there is a great picture somewhere of this — but Taz laid out and caught
the ball with one hand. He was probably 30 or 40 yards down the field.
It was a crucial part of the game and Dre knew if he threw it to Taz he
would have a chance to catch it because he has such good hands.''
Mauldin benefited all season from the
on-the-field connection shared by Richardson and Massey.
"They have that innate ability to
know what the other was doing,'' Taylor said. "Sometimes Taz would run
an option route, and whenever he'd break off the route, Dre knew exactly
what he was doing. I don't know if it was a look Taz gave Dre, or a look
Dre gave Taz, but Dre always went to Taz when it was crunch time. And
everyone knew it.''
Richardson's performance during the
2013 season earned him a number of post-season honors, including a berth
on the All-Region squad. He was also named Mauldin's offensive MVP
(Massey won team MVP honors).
With Massey headed to Greenville for
the fall, Richardson will become the focal point of Mauldin's offense.
In order to handle that challenge better, Richardson has worked hard to
add even more weight during this off season.
"He wants to put on 15 more pounds
before the start of the season to make himself harder to bring down,''
Taylor said. "We've got a couple of kids who can throw the ball, but
they can't run like Dre. But we have some capable quarterbacks who can
get the ball to Taz. I'll also have to find some more creative ways to
get him the ball. We've done some stuff in spring practice with him in
motion so we can run the option with him. We may toss it to him a couple
times and let him run with it.''
Although other schools are expected
to continue recruiting Richardson, Taylor believes his receiving star
will stick with his pledge to ECU.
"The program the coaches have
established at East Carolina is fantastic and our players have been very
impressed with that since the first time they came to our campus,''
Taylor said. "Honestly, I think Taz is pretty solid going there. The
reputation of the staff and the success they've had there speaks for
itself, and I think Taz values that.''
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06/08/2014 07:57 PM |
