Here are a few quotes and my commentary on an article from February 2015. Belichick must have read the same article on his Super Bowl yacht.
No wonder Richards was projected later in the draft: "While
other prospects left school to train full time... at
pricey athletic academies in Southern California, Phoenix or South Florida,
Richards trains while maintaining a full class schedule."
And because he attends Stanford and stayed in college during the draft, he was questioned if he would quit for a cushy day job if things got hard.
But he already has it harder than most college players. He studies at the gym, something Belichick must have loved. "On some days... he might bring his textbooks to the gym and pump out a few chapters between sessions."
He's humble and does not quit at anything. His worst GPA was actually in his first semester at Stanford. "In high school, you were one of the smartest kids. And at Stanford, you’re pretty much the dumbest kid", he said.
And he must have started in high school, since he got into Stanford in the first place.
In high school, he never left the field, as safety and running back.
His dad was the coach of the high school freshman team.
He was captain of the winning Div II title team.
In college, he never missed a game for four years, and became a starter as a sophomore when
he was called Coach Richards by his teammates.
By senior year, Richards could play
both safety positions,
the nickel and dime defensive back spots and even was
the team’s “disaster” cornerback.
“If we were on the road and had injuries at cornerback, we could plug him in there,” Stanford secondary coach Akina said.
He was so confident in his abilities that he stayed in college to finish his degree. In turn, the Patriots clearly targeted him in round two.
Stanford is not just a football college, and provides a world-famous education. As a student athlete, he took 100% advantage of both sides of the university.
Now that he's on the Patriots, we can expect him to take 100% advantage of the opportunities in Foxboro.
http://www.sacbee.com/sports/nfl/san-francisco-49ers/article10886939.html
