Sheldon Richardson, the 6-foot-4, 270-pound four-star tight end/defensive end from Gateway High School in St. Louis, Mo., says he has 25 scholarship offers and has narrowed his choices to four favorites: No. 12 Missouri, No. 23 Miami, Minnesota and Arkansas. All of his favorites have offered as well as Oklahoma, Kansas, Kansas State, Notre Dame, Wisconsin, Nebraska, Illinois and Texas A&M, among others.
Richardson committed to the in-state favorite Missouri as a junior but began to look around when he started getting other offers. "It was when I got an offer from Miami that I really wanted to look around some more," Richardson explained.
He grew up a following Miami but never thought the 'Canes would offer. "Miami was always on TV when I was younger," he said. "It seemed like everybody from there went to the NFL and you had to be a special player to play for them.
"Miami offered me during the summer when I was still committed to Missouri and that made me think about things," Richardson said. "Then all of a sudden a lot of other schools started offering me and that's when I told the (Missouri) coaches I wanted to look around and take other visits."
He says the Tigers coaches weren't thrilled with his news. "They said they didn't want me to take other visits, but that they couldn't stop me," he said.
Richardson has already taken his first visit on Nov. 7 to Minnesota. "It was a lot of fun," he said. "I liked the coaches and the players were real nice.
"I really like the style they play," Richardson said. "It's my type of football up there. The only thing I didn't like was that it was so cold. I don't even know what the temperature was, but it was cold."
He says the Gophers and 'Canes are recruiting him the hardest.
The next official visit that he's taking is to Missouri on Dec. 13 and he says he's still "somewhat committed" to the Tigers. "I still think of myself as committed," he said. "But I'm still looking around. It's probably like 65-75 percent solid right now."
So why did Richardson decide to pull the trigger so early for Missouri? "When I was first offered by them I decided to commit because I thought I wanted to stay close," he said. "They are only two hours away and it just seemed like a good situation for me.
"But then Miami offered me and opened everything up," he said.
While Richardson admits that his parents would still like him to remain a Tiger, he says that distance is no longer a factor.
He'll be visiting the 'Canes on Jan. 17. "They've really impressed me this year," he said. "They are playing mostly freshman and sophomores and are 7-3 right now. I think that I'd be able to play early there and I really like coach Randy Shannon.
"Coach Shannon is a good person and not just a good coach," he said. "He really cares about his players and about making them better people."
A week prior, Richardson will be tripping to Arkansas on Jan. 10.
"I like that Arkansas plays in the SEC," he said. "That’s the best conference and they play the best competition each week."
The one strike against the Razorbacks is that they are recruiting him as a defensive tackle. "I don't see myself playing defensive tackle," he said. "I want to make sure they want me for defensive end too."
Richardson has helped lead his team to a 9-3 record and a berth in the state class four semifinals. He has 88 tackles, 15 sacks and one interception. Offensively, he caught 25 receptions for 517 yards and seven touchdowns. He also has three kick returns for 117 yards.
"I have a good mix of strength and speed," he said. "I have a quick first step and a lot of explosiveness. People don't realize how fast I really am. I have sleeper speed."
Richardson insists he runs a 4.7 forty and has a 31-inch vertical jump. He also benches 325-pounds and squats 595-pounds.
"I want to be more consistent and go hard on every play," he said. "I need to not take any plays off and improve my stamina."
Although Richardson is ranked as the No. 7 offensive guard in the country by Scout.com, he says most schools are recruiting him for either tight end or defensive end. "I like both positions (tight end/defensive end)," he said. "I'm productive on both sides of the ball.
"When I'm playing on offense I'll get the first down," he said. "And when I'm on defensive I can come up with the big tackle or sack."
He also plays power forward and center in basketball and says he may try to double-sport in college.
Richardson says he wants to major in criminal justice. He reports a 2.4 core GPA and a 17 ACT, which he is retaking in December.