Shortly after starting his football career at Escambia High School in Pensacola, Fla., Trent Richardson tore ligaments in both ankles. Two surgeries left doctors convinced he would never run again. The news rocked the young running back, but he didn’t let the diagnosis define him.
“It was tough on me,” he says. “When I was injured, I stayed with the team at all times. When they went to work out, I worked out. When they were at practice, I was on the sideline. I was trying to push them.”
Richardson also ran track in high school, and once his injuries healed, he lowered his times. After he returned to football, he had more speed. He says, “My junior year, back and training hard, I got faster.”
Richardson enrolled at the University of Alabama, and in his junior year, he carried the ball 283 times for 1,679 yards and 21 touchdowns, leading the Crimson Tide to the BCS National Championship. Trading up, the Browns selected him third overall in the 2012 NFL Draft.
Richardson’s comeback is proof that no matter what, never give up on your dreams.
