Positives -- Amazing combination of size and speed, his measurables are off the charts... Is both one of the fastest and strongest backs in this class... Is going to blow people away in workouts with his strength, speed, and explosiveness... Has a very quick first step to explode through the hole, gets his first ten yards in a hurry... Does a good job of always heading up the field, doesn't dance much... Breaks a ton of tackles, will run through arm tackles as if they aren't even there, he just continues moving and seems to always pick up that extra half yard... Relishes contact, often lowers his shoulder and bulls through defenders... Impressive leg drive, doesn't give up... Thick lower body, huge thighs and is very tough to bring down... Great vision, does a good job of finding the hole and finds his cut back lanes... Good ability as a pass blocker, played in a pro-style offense at Alabama that prepared him well for blitz pickups... Good hands and runs good routes out of the backfield, will be able to contribute on all three downs at the next level... His workout numbers should be similar to those of Adrian Peterson to give you an idea of how much of a freak athlete he is... No major injuries during his time in college... Played at the highest level of competition in the SEC... Doesn't have much tread on his tires, he was able to play behind Mark Ingram for his first two years... Put up huge numbers as a junior with 1,679 yards and 21 touchdowns on the ground... Known as a gym rat and a workout warrior, constantly in the weight room... Reportedly has a 600 pound squat and can bench 475 pounds while only weighing roughly 220 pounds... Incredible work ethic... Extremely high upside, has all the makings of a future Pro Bowler.
Negatives -- Doesn't have a ton of open field moves, relies more on sheer strength and power... Has great initial quickness but doesn't have elite long-speed, can get chased from behind at the second level... Underwent ankle surgery in high school. At Alabama -- (Official School Bio) 2011: Trent Richardson won the Doak Walker Award as the nation's top running back... a finalist for the Heisman Trophy, finishing third in the voting... a finalist for the Maxwell Award and the Walter Camp Player of the Year... a first-team All-American the AFCA, FWAA, Walter Camp, Associated Press, Sporting News, ESPN.com, SI.com, CBSsports.com, Rivals.com and Pro Football Weekly... SEC Offensive Player of the Year by the league coaches and the Associated Press... unanimous first-team All-SEC... averaging 131.9 yards per game to rank fifth nationally and first in the SEC... his 1,583 rushing yards is fifth nationally and the second most in Alabama history... fifth nationally and first in the SEC in scoring at 11.5 points per game... has a school-record 20 rushing touchdowns and three receiving... equaled his previous season high in rushing touchdowns in the first four games... 20 rushing touchdowns is tied for the second most in SEC history (Tim Tebow, 23; Cam Newton, 20)... his 23 total touchdowns is the second-most in school and SEC history and more than Mark Ingram had in the 2009 season when he won his Heisman Trophy... has carried the ball 263 times for an average of 6.0 yards per carry... his 1,976 yards from scrimmage accounts for 36.7 percent of the Alabama offense in 2011... gets strong in the second half where he has accounted for 59.3 percent of his rushing yards (938 yards)... 90 of his carries have gone for a first down or a touchdown while 14 receptions have converted first downs with two receiving touchdown... has 34 rushes of 12 yards or more, including touchdown bursts of 76, 71, 57 and 58 yards... has 12 receptions of 12 yards or more... has nine 100-yard rushing games on the season, which equals Mark Ingram's school record (2009)... has 13 in his career, which is the second most in UA history... had six straight 100-yard rushing games this year that equaled Shaun Alexander's school record... also caught 27 passes for 327 yards and three touchdowns, including a 61-yard strike... returned three kickoffs for 66 yards... averaging 164.7 all-purpose yards per game to lead the SEC and rank seventh nationally... Offensive Player of the Week by the UA coaching staff following the North Texas, Arkansas, Florida, Mississippi, LSU, Mississippi State, Georgia Southern and Auburn games... also the SEC Offensive Player of the Week following a 38-14 win over Arkansas, a 52-7 victory at Mississippi and his 203-yard game at Auburn... has averaged 142.0 rushing yards per game and 198.4 all-purpose yards per game against five top-25 opponents with six total touchdowns... averages 105 rush yards per game and 142 all-purpose yards per game against five top-20 total defenses... averages 136.4 ypg with 11 scores while accounting for 178.4 all-purpose yards per game in SEC play with 12 total touchdowns... ball security is also a key component of Richardson's success, losing only one fumble in 614 career touches... he has not lost a fumble since the sixth game of his freshman season, a span of 550 touches... has moved into fifth place on Alabama career rushing list with 3,034 yards... has faced eight of the nation's top 51 defenses this season -- no other running back in the top 10 nationally has faced more than five... his 34 career rushing touchdowns are third at UA, behind Ingram (42) and Alexander (41).