Richardson reflects on spurning Gators; freshman unfazed by Florida fans

Lincoln gives insight on Florida fans

Of all the big-name prospects who Lane Kiffin landed in his first off-season as Tennessee's football coach, Nu'Keese Richardson stands apart this week.

Sure there are others, like tailback Bryce Brown and safety Janzen Jackson, who had been committed to Miami and LSU, respectively. Receiver Marsalis Teague was committed to Florida and later switched to the Vols.

But Teague lived in Tennessee. Only one player within Florida's borders committed to the Gators only to eventually signed with the Vols and play for Kiffin.

"I mess with him about it; it's worse on you," Teague said with a chuckle about Richardson. "You're actually from Florida. You were committed there a long time.

"I jumped on late and then kind of backed off, and I'm from Tennessee. Most people ain't going to fault me too much but they're going to get at you."

And to think, Richardson would have never switched to UT had it not been for an aunt's suggestion.

"She wanted me to see something new, something different," the former Pahokee (Fla.) High School star said.

The trip is now infamous.

It's the trip in which Florida coach Urban Meyer was so concerned that he repeatedly rang Richardson's cell phone during meetings with UT's coaches.

Those phone calls led Kiffin to mistakenly accuse Meyer of cheating - an accusation that still infuriates Florida fans and probably a few coaches and players.

Which all sets the stage for Saturday when the Vols (1-1) take on the No. 1 Gators (2-0) at Ben Hill Griffin Stadium. Kickoff is 3:30 p.m. (TV: WVLT, 3:30). There, in front of 90,000-plus fans, Richardson will venture out on his own again: to return a punt, play quarterback or line up at wide receiver.

Kiffin all but pledged Richardson would have a bigger impact this week than he had in UT's first two games.

"Wish we would have gotten him the ball more last week," Kiffin said. "He is a special player. Nu'Keese had done a great job, continues to develop in our offense. Eventually, he'll be a great player here."

Richardson has three receptions for 30 yards and one carry for eight yards.

His most memorable moments have come returning punts. There was a bobble here, a fumble there and a bizarre return in which he muffed a punt then recovered it in the end zone just before he was tackled.

"I didn't know I was in the end zone actually until I looked down and I saw the checkerboards," Richardson said of the return against UCLA last Saturday that resulted in a touchback. "I thought 'That was a bad decision on my part.' "

The experience, however, has proved helpful.

"I feel real comfortable when the ball is in the air," Richardson said. "I know I can get it and make something happen."

Kiffin, who said Richardson has been a block away from scoring on some of those returns, echoed that same confidence in one of his preeminent young playmakers.

"You have to have confidence in them," he said. "They have to feel your confidence. If you start pulling all your guys because you're going into a hostile environment, I don't know that shows you believe in your team.

"Are they going to be perfect? No, they're not going to be perfect. We're going to try to make them perfect."

Richardson has had the opportunities that Kiffin promised in recruiting. He's also taken some flack from some Florida faithful for his decision. His Facebook page is proof of that.

"I don't worry about the outsiders," Richardson said. "I just try to do my job and do it at the best of my ability."

Relations with old friends are strained this week. Richardson hasn't talked to former high school teammate Janoris Jenkins in over a month. Richardson said he doesn't expect any trash talking to occur between him and the sophomore cornerback, but if talk is necessary, he's game.

"If anybody else might want to talk," Richardson said, "I might give them a little talk."

That was about as much swagger as the soft-spoken Richardson offered. He leaves that to Kiffin.

"His confidence level is beyond what you would expect," Richardson said. "I like his confidence level. That's one of the main things I loved about him."

Yet Richardson doesn't seem worried about venturing near his old stomping grounds.

"It's nothing I can't handle," he said. "It's people, fans and the noise. I just feel like it's another game I'm playing in."

Teague, who is Richardson's roommate, said the two laugh about the fan outcry. Neither are concerned about the reaction awaiting the Vols.

"Fans are going to boo but they're going to boo the whole team so that doesn't really matter," Teague said. "Everywhere you go, you're going to have people that don't like you."

Perhaps, but Richardson is in new territory and that has nothing to do with The Swamp. He's never been on a team that is listed as a 28 1/2-point underdog.

"We're the underdogs so everybody is expecting us to do bad," Richardson said. "We've got to go in and take some.

"We're trying to make a statement."