Former Ram ready to enter the world of pro-football

Addison leaves the Rams as one of the most elite football players in school history./Arthur Ward

Humble as ever, Richards talks about his path to the CFL draft

Addison Richards is a fourth-year wide receiver playing for the University of Regina Rams. Richards is projected to go early in this spring’s CFL draft. Richards logged 114.5 yards per game, good for second highest in the entire CIS. The 6’4” wide receiver picked up 916 yards over the course of the season, which was enough to make him the league’s top player in terms of yardage, catapulting him to the heights of Canadian university football.

Though Richards is committed to football at the post secondary level, he has not always been a one-sport athlete.

“It’s been exclusively football after high school. But, high school was football, basketball, track, and some other stuff. I mixed it up.”

Though he has played many sports in his twenty-two years, Richards’ sport of choice has always been football.

“My favourite sport has always been football. As soon as I started playing on the playground, I just loved it.”

The camaraderie of a sports team is a major draw for Richards, who says that some of his most treasured moments in playing football have come from.

“Meeting the guys and going through an off-season with them, you learn about the ins-and-outs of their lives. Then you get to go out on the field with them and get to play with a bunch of different guys from a bunch of different backgrounds. That’s definitely been the most rewarding thing: meeting a lot of different people and going into battle with them.”

Richards went to high school at Sheldon-Williams Collegiate in south Regina. The school has generated several CFL players as well as Super Bowl champion, Jon Ryan. Richards takes great pride in his hometown, but will be ecstatic with the opportunity to play for any professional football team.

“Obviously, there is that eight year old inside of me that wants to wear the green and white because that’s what I grew up watching, but at this point, anywhere I can play and anyone who is willing to give me a chance, I’m going to give it my all and pour everything into it.”

While Richards is excited about his future in football, he is spending time preparing for a life after competitive sports. Richards is a student in the Faculty of Science – specifically biochemistry.

“I have no idea where that’s going to go, but it’s what I enjoy doing right now. It’s kind of weird. It’s not the typical dumb jock thing, I guess.”

Richards’ may not be sure about how he will apply this after school, but it’s just as much of a plan as many of us have.

“It’s realizing a lifelong dream of wanting to play pro football. It’s still a ways away and there’s a lot of work to do, but it’s definitely very exciting to be in the mix for that.”

When asked about managing the sacrifices required to excel at academics and extracurriculars, Richards was succinct.

“You’re going to hate your life. Really, you can’t put all of your eggs in one basket. You’re going to lose sleep, but the payoff is worth it.”

Richards is a pragmatic student athlete who seems ready for whatever challenges football and life will throw his way.