Tribute to my son's career (with video)

[SixManNewb]

The board is slow, so I'm posting this here. I think yall might be able to appreciate it. My son (Tucker Richardson - PCA North) just finished his football career with a TAPPS D3 state championship. He never expressed any interest in playing in college. He says all he's ever wanted to be is a Red Raider and he knows the odds of playing at Tech are slim to none, so he's focusing on his career (and becoming an intramural legend).

He's a special player. He's not the fastest player on the field (not slow by any means) and he's not big (5'8" 155 lb), but I'd take him over anyone (except maybe Rigdon). There are athletes and there are football players, and Tucker is a football player. He's always understood the game at a deeper level. He's a natural leader who garners the respect of his teammates and opponents. Offensively, he's got exceptional hands and body control. He didn't have a drop his senior year and has perfected the sideline toe tap. He sees the field as well as anyone and can stop and cut on a dime. He's extremely elusive and has a killer spin move, but he's also not afraid to lower his shoulder and go through you if he needs a yard. Defensively, he was underutilized his sophomore and junior seasons. His coach wanted to save him for offense. He would occasionally play on 4th downs or when someone was injured, which was a shame because he's exceptional in coverage. In summer 6v6, he shut down the opponent's best player repeatedly. This season, he started at LB. It wasn't all him obviously, but the defense went from being really soft to one of the best in the state at any level.

So here are his highlights from each season if you're interested in what kind of football is being played in Prosper. They are longer than a recruiting video would be bc they aren't intended to be recruiting videos....just a celebration of his seasons.


Senior Season: https://www.hudl.com/video/3/14934062/65256e9d2348cf0410bd730f

Junior Season: https://www.hudl.com/video/3/14934062/6343384b5ef6bb08fc8876e4

Sophomore Season: https://www.hudl.com/video/3/14934062/614df01c9a912008c0269bec

 

[Zebra Watcher]

Congratulations to you and your son on his high school career. He was a good athlete. NAIA, D3, and D2 schools could possibly use his services. Get film out and watch for walk-on tryout dates.
If he chooses not to, he can still be part of the action and become a Zebra.

 

[SixManNewb]

Congratulations to you and your son on his high school career. He was a good athlete. NAIA, D3, and D2 schools could possibly use his services. Get film out and watch for walk-on tryout dates.
If he chooses not to, he can still be part of the action and become a Zebra.

We talked about walking on at Tech. I think he’d at least make the practice squad which would give him invaluable experience if he ever wanted to coach someday. I think he’d be a spectacular coach. At the end of the day, he decided that walking on was my dream and not his. In order to make that kind of commitment, he’s gotta be all in and he’s just not.

He chose to not play basketball his senior year and has been hitting the weight room preparing for baseball season. He’s put on 15 pounds since football ended. He’s still only 17 yr old, so I could see him being 5’9” 185 (Welker size). He might change his mind about walking on if that happens, but I doubt it. He seems content just going to college to become an architect.

 

[Jdoane82]

I am just getting caught up and seeing this. I think its speaks to Tucker's maturity and realizing walking on is not his dream, also speaks to the strength in your relationship to be able to have those conversations. I have only coached against the kid and the biggest compliment I can give him is in the state semifinal game when the game got close and PCA needed a few 1st downs they literally just gave the ball to #1, 3 or 4 times in a row if my memory serves me right. These videos will be something to show his kids one day when they just think ole dad is blowing smoke lol

 

[SixManNewb]

I am just getting caught up and seeing this. I think its speaks to Tucker's maturity and realizing walking on is not his dream, also speaks to the strength in your relationship to be able to have those conversations. I have only coached against the kid and the biggest compliment I can give him is in the state semifinal game when the game got close and PCA needed a few 1st downs they literally just gave the ball to #1, 3 or 4 times in a row if my memory serves me right. These videos will be something to show his kids one day when they just think ole dad is blowing smoke lol

Technically it was 5x. The 3rd down play was supposed to be a handoff but the center air mailed it over the QBs head. Tucker grabbed it, but faced a dilemma. He knew he wasn't live, but he also knew he couldn't throw an incompletion and stop the clock. I'm not exactly sure what the thought process was of running it anyway, but we caught a break with the facemask and offsetting penalties. The 4th & 1 run wasn't the sexiest of his career, but given the circumstances might have been the biggest.

I appreciate the kind words. Even at a very young age, he and I have always been able to have honest conversations about everything, but especially about his athletics. If he had a bad day, we could talk about what went wrong and how to fix it. Sometimes that conversation happened mid-game when I was coaching him. Sometimes it happened the next day. He's always just wanted to get better so he never took it as criticism. You should sit and watch a game with him sometime. He picks up on things I'd never even think to look for. I can't tell you how many times he's said "Go back.....watch (insert observation here)..." I had him calling his own plays in 3rd grade flag football (just for the 2nd half of one game where we were winning). Unlike most 3rd graders, he didn't just call his own number or the same play over and over. He was setting things up and making calls based on what the defense was showing him. When I coached his 7v7 team in middle school, we would draw up plays on the fly if we saw something we thought would work. Those are the things I'm going to miss most.