For the past two seasons strong safety Jordan Richards teamed with Ed Reynolds as one of the best safety tandems in the country (Reynolds made the game-changing interceptions, but it was often Richards who delivered the crushing hits). With Reynolds having graduated and departed for the NFL, Richards remains. Aside from being one of the team's senior leaders, he will also be one of the nation's top safeties, as evidenced by his inclusion on several pre-season watch lists (Lott IMPACT Trophy, Bednarik Award, and Nagurski Award) and all-conference teams (first team Pac-12, according to Athlon, Phil Steele, and the Sporting News).
Along with quarterback Kevin Hogan, Richards was one of two player representatives at last week's Pac-12 Media Days, and I was able to spend some time talking to him about new defensive backs coach Duane Akina, the team's sudden success against Oregon, and the importance of finding new team leaders. A handful of journalists surrounded Richards during the interview session. The questions in italics were posed by one of these other writers. Enjoy...
Do you think the defense will be similar to the last couple years?
Jordan Richards:
Yes. Coach Anderson’s a phenomenal coach, and a lot of the stuff that Coach Mason preached over the last four seasons or so, Coach Anderson is right there behind him. We’re going to do the same thing we’ve done the last three years -- play disciplined football, play with our hair on fire, and just run, run, run.
Are there any differences you’ve noticed?
Richards:
Obviously it’s a different voice. It’s getting used to a different voice. But Coach Anderson is just as committed as Coach Mason was. It’s a different voice, but he’s just as intense about winning and playing good football.
GMC:
What about Coach Akina? How has his addition been? Have you had a chance to work with him yet?
Richards:
Yes, he was here for seven practices, the second half of our spring ball. Although he’s been off on vacation, hanging out with his family, getting the transition all done. I’m really excited to work with him. Coach Akina’s a great football mind. Obviously he has the NFL pedigree with the guys he’s put in the league, the guys that have won Thorpe Awards and been possible Heisman candidates and stuff like that. You those guys still having success in the league right now. So Coach Akina’s an awesome addition to our defense, to our staff, and for me, I’m just trying to ask questions and learn, learn, learn, and get clarification and be the best football player I can be.
GMC:
Do you think his emphasis is going to be schematic or more skill-based with individual players?
Richards:
Shoot, I don’t know. It’s camp, and we’ll get 24 practices and 30 straight days of getting to meet with him, so I don’t quite know whether it’s more schematic or technique, but I’m excited for it.
A lot of Oregon offensive linemen used what happened against you guys as motivation to get bigger and stronger in the off season. What was your motivation this year?
Richards:
Obviously we won another Pac-12 title, which is great, but we felt like our team underachieved, and not just because we lost the Rose Bowl. We felt like we had a national championship caliber team last year, and even the year before. So this year the whole training program has been “be the best football team you can be,” and that takes being 1-0 each week and not looking ahead. So our first game is against Davis, and we’re preparing for them as we speak. That’s what it’s gonna take. It’s gonna take one weekend at a time, putting your best foot forward, and playing the best football you can.
Both teams have more traditional rivals, but is that Oregon-Stanford game kind of fun just because of the stakes you guys are playing for?
Richards:
I guess, the North title has come down to that game, so obviously it means a little bit more. But every game is just as important. If you lose to Oregon State, then playing Oregon doesn’t have as much significance. Every week’s an opportunity to go out there and play, and we’re not looking past anybody. We learned that the hard way last year, so this year it’s on myself and other leaders on this team to make sure we don’t overlook anybody.
GMC:
Coach Shaw has talked about the leadership, as you just touched on, and some of the guys who have left. What’s the sense that you have at this point, whether it’s specific players that you see stepping up or just in general, how is the team going to fill that void?
Richards:
There are still leaders on this team. You lose maybe some more vocal guys who are on camera, that you guys as media people know, personalities like Shayne and David Yankey. But between myself and Kevin Hogan and A.J. Tarpley, Henry Anderson, David Parry -- there’s plenty of guys that have played a lot of football here. Consistent players, poised players who know how to lead their teammates. That’s something that I’ve gotten used to over the past spring and winter and during conditioning. It’s a role I take really seriously and I’m excited to step into that.
This is the Year of the Quarterback in the Pac-12, but as a defensive back does that kind of get you hyped? Is it more the Year of the DB, maybe?
Richards:
I love it. It’s a great opportunity. We’re gonna face ten quarterbacks this year that are prolific passers, even prolific runners. It’s an opportunity to get out there and compete and show what our defensive backfield can do. We want to play against the best, we want to be the best.
GMC:
Can you talk about the path this team has taken, specifically in its approach to Oregon. From the outside, it seemed like that was the focus of the program...
Richards:
Yeah.
GMC:
Can you talk about how that has turned to where after last year’s game people were talking about Oregon having a Stanford problem?
Richards:
Thinking back, it’s been focusing more on what we’re doing. Less about Oregon and more about our schemes. How are we gonna play them? How are we gonna get to the football? The edge, the tenacity, the physicality that we’re gonna play with. So for us it’s just been focusing on what we can do, what we can control. Oregon’s gonna push the tempo. The Oregon you see in the first quarter isn’t gonna be the Oregon you see in the fourth quarter, so you can’t tailor everything you do to them. You just have to line up and play football and let the best team win. We’ve been successful in that; this year it’s gonna take another huge effort again.
On that note, Oregon is again picked to win the Pac-12, but you guys have won it the past two years. Is there a part of you that wonders when these people are gonna learn?
Richards:
No. It really doesn’t bother me. We don’t think about it that much at all. We’ve won the Pac-12 title the last two years, but we don’t start the season off 2-0.
But why do you think people continually don’t talk about you guys?
Richards:
Honestly, I don’t know the answer to that question. Obviously what Oregon does is a little more flashy, and it works for them. They’ve been really successful for the last eight, nine, ten years doing it their way. Obviously we have a different way. And maybe part of it is losing all the fifth-year seniors and fourth-year guys, a lot of leadership and the whole offensive line. But we feel really confident in the guys we have here and the guys that have been part of this program. In our team covenant every year we talk about how we’re a product of the program, those that have come before us, each other, and the future players to play here. The expectation has been set, and we’re pushing guys each and every day to meet or exceed that expectation.
You have to replace a lot on defense. Who are some rising stars?
Richards:
I’ll stick with the defensive backfield, because that’s my specialty. Ronnie Harris has had a really, really good winter and spring at corner, and I’m really excited to be out there with Ronnie. He’s gonna show you guys what he can do. Rachard Pippens, Zach Hoffpauir, Kyle Olgubode -- there’s all kinds of names. We’re really deep, deeper than people really think we are. There’s a lot of guys who are ready to play.
Who’s going to be the next linebacker that we know all about?
Richards:
The next linebacker? Shoot, it could be Joe Hemschoot, it could be Blake Martinez. You already know A.J. Tarpley. A.J’s played some darn good football the past three years. I don’t think he gets enough recognition for what he can do. But it’s gonna be the same thing -- guys that are smart, disciplined, and can flat play football.
Last year after the Pac-12 championship, Shayne mentioned that there’s really a mentality that when guys leave, somebody else steps up because they’ve learned directly from the person they’re replacing. What’s that process like for you guys at Stanford?
Richards:
It starts when you’re a freshman, during your freshman summer. You come in, “I’m a four-star this, I’m a three-star that...” and you quickly realize what it’s like to play college football. We all have that “welcome to college football” moment, “welcome to conditioning at this level.” And then from there, you’re broken down with Coach Turley. You’ve gotta start with clean slate. From there it’s just building, building, building. Getting stronger mentality and physically. Learning how to study football -- not just watching it, not just hanging out and enjoying a game, but how to you study it. How do you see tendencies. That’s the stuff really focus on, the intellectual side of the game that helps us be successful on Saturdays.
At what point for you did it kind of click, where you started to get the speed of the college game, really kind of pick up from the guys you were playing with?
Richards:
For me, it was that transition between freshman and sophomore year. I got to play every game as a freshman, I got to start three of them. Just kind of taking to heart what guys like Michael Thomas and Delano Howell and Jonathan Bademosi had said and really taking my game to the next level. I had played, but I wasn’t yet comfortable playing. Now it was that transition to excelling. How are you gonna excel on the field? What steps do you need to take in order to be the player you want to be. It’s not going to happen over night, it’s not gonna happen because you want it to happen. It’s action. What are you going to do?
When you see as many guys making an impact in the NFL now from Stanford, what does that say about this football program tied into the academic program?
Richards:
It’s just a testament of the guys we recruit and a testament of the work they put in here. It’s not always the easiest road. I wouldn’t say the road we’ve taken to get to where we’re at right now has been easy or flashy or widely covered, but our guys find a way to get it done. We have a saying: Start fast, stay focused, and find a way to finish. Finding a way to finish is what our guys have done at the next level. There have been a lot of guys who weren’t drafted but are now making teams and contributing in huge ways.
How much to you pay attention to the pre-season watch lists?
Richards:
I pay about this much attention to it, honestly. Nothing. It’s preseason, and it’s cool to talk about it now, but in the end all I want to is win a Pac-12 championship and win a national championship. Whatever individual stuff comes my way, or comes our way in terms of other players on this team, it’s kind of icing on the cake. But in the end, when I look back at my Stanford career, I just want to have as many rings as I can because I’ll know I did it with some of the best friends I’ll ever have.
Do you have any personal goals for this season?
Richards:
For me, I just want to leave it all out there. By the time my last game ends in the Stanford Cardinal uniform, I want to be able to say that I gave it my all.
