BLACK SOCIAL HISTORY Sheldon Richardson

Sheldon Richardson

Richardson in action against the Buffalo Bills, September 2013, Met Life Stadium

No. 91 New York Jets

Defensive End

Personal information

Date of birth: November 29, 1990 (age 24)

Place of birth: St. Louis, Missouri

Height: 6 ft 3 in (1.91 m)

Weight: 294 lb (133 kg)

Career information

High school: St. Louis (MO) Gateway

College: Missouri

NFL Draft: 2013 / Round: 1 / Pick: 13

Debuted in 2013 for the New York Jets

Career history

New York Jets (2013–present)

Roster status: Active

Career highlights and awards

College

Second-team All-SEC (2012)
Honorable mention All-Big 12 (2011)

NFL

AP NFL Defensive Rookie of the Year (2013)
CBS Sports Defensive Rookie of the Year (2013)
NFL Defensive Rookie of the Month (November 2013)

Career NFL statistics as of Week 13, 2014

Tackles	128
Sacks	7.0
Interceptions	0
Forced fumbles	2
Rushing yards	8
Rushing touchdowns	2
Stats at NFL.com

Sheldon Adam Richardson (born November 29, 1990) is an American football defensive end for the New York Jets of the National Football League (NFL). He played college football for the University of Missouri. He was considered one of the top defensive tackle draft prospects, and was chosen by the New York Jets in the first round of the 2013 NFL Draft.^[1]^[2]

Early years

Richardson was born in St. Louis, Missouri on November 29, 1990, the son to Michael and Zelda (née Robinson) Richardson.^[3] He attended Gateway High School in St. Louis, where he played for the Gateway Jaguars high school football team. He recorded 88 tackles and 19 quarterback sacks, while adding seven fumble recoveries, five forced fumbles, and one interception. He also scored six defensive touchdowns on the year, as well, while adding 27 receptions for 541 yards and eight touchdowns at the tight end position. Following his senior season, USA Today recognized him as a high school All-American. He was considered the No. 1 defensive tackle, and No. 4 best player overall, in the nation by recruit rating service Rivals.com.^[4]

Name	Hometown	High school / college	Height	Weight	40^‡	Commit date
Sheldon Richardson Defensive tackle	St. Louis, Missouri	Gateway High School	6 ft 4 in (1.93 m)	292 lb (132 kg)	4.72	Jun 12, 2007
Sheldon Richardson Defensive tackle	Scout: Rivals: 247Sports: N/A
Overall recruiting rankings: Scout: 4 (DT) Rivals: 4 (DE), 1 (MS)
‡ Refers to 40 yard dash Note: In many cases, Scout, Rivals, 247Sports, and ESPN may conflict in their listings of height, weight and 40 time. In these cases, the average was taken. ESPN grades are on a 100-point scale. Sources: "Missouri Football Commitments". Rivals.com. Retrieved 2013. "2009 Missouri Football Recruiting Commits". Scout.com. Retrieved 2013. "Scout.com Team Recruiting Rankings". Scout.com. Retrieved 2013. "2009 Team Ranking". Rivals.com. Retrieved 2013.

College career

Richardson attended the College of the Sequoias in Visalia, California for two years. After his sophomore year, he transferred to the University of Missouri, where he played for coach Gary Pinkel's Missouri Tigers football team in 2011 and 2012. He was suspended from the team for an unspecified rules violation on November 15, 2012, and announced on November 30, 2012 that he would enter the NFL Draft instead of finishing his senior year as a Missouri Tiger. He finished the season tied for second on the team with 75 tackles, a figure that led all defensive tackles in the Southeastern Conference. He also had 10.5 tackles for loss, four quarterback sacks, seven quarterback hurries, and three forced fumbles.

Professional career

2013 NFL Draft

He was No. 16 on ESPN analyst Mel Kiper's "big board" and generally was projected as a middle first-rounder by several early mock drafts.^[5] He was drafted in the first round, with the 13th overall pick, of the 2013 NFL Draft by the New York Jets. He was the first defensive tackle off the board.

New York Jets

2013

On July 25, 2013, Richardson signed a four-year $10.05 million deal. He was named the starting defensive end in the 2013 season. During the month of November, Richardson won the NFL Rookie of the Month award, becoming the first Jets player to do so since Mark Sanchez in 2009. The Jets used Richardson as a fullback in six plays during the 2013 season in games against the Atlanta Falcons, the Buffalo Bills, the Carolina Panthers, and the Miami Dolphins. In a week 15 game against the Panthers, Richardson became the first NFL defensive lineman to score a rushing touchdown since B.J. Raji did so for the Green Bay Packers in 2011.^[6] He ran for his second career touchdown of the season in the Jets' week 17 finale against Miami.^[7] Richardson played 16 games (started 15) in 2013 making 78 tackles, a pass defended, a forced fumble, 3.5 sacks, and 2 rushing touchdowns. On February 2, 2014, it was announced that Richardson had won the 2013 NFL Defensive Rookie of the Year award, edging out Buffalo Bills linebacker Kiko Alonsoby a margin of 23 votes to 19.^[8]