Tide's Richardson looks forward to many happy returns

"I love kickoff returns," Ala­bama's standout sophomore running back said. "I didn't really get to return none in high school, because they all kicked away from me. But when I did, I always ran them back." In the second game of his sophomore season in 2006 at Es­cambia High School in Pensa­cola, Fla., Richardson returned a kickoff 90 yards for a touchdown against Washington High School. Late in his junior season, Rich­ardson returned a kickoff 100 yards in a loss to Pine Forest. In the third game of his senior season, Richardson returned a kickoff 90 yards for a fourth­quarter touchdown that helped make the difference in a five­point victory. Pace High had just taken a 16-14 lead. "You can't just put the ball in Trent's hands in any way," Jimmy Nicholls, Escambia's head coach at the time, told the Pensacola News-Journal after the game. "I'm telling you, be­cause more times than not, you'll pay for it." It appears Richardson will get a chance to return kickoffs this season for Alabama. Twice dur­ing the preseason, coach Nick Saban has mentioned Richard­son as the man most likely to re­place departed All-American Jav­ier Arenas.