Richard is a playmaker on the outside

It's unfortunate, but players who get injured during the season can get lost when it comes to recruiting. Apparently, Santa Monica WR Carlton Richard (6-2, 190) is just such a player. He missed four games this season with a knee injury, but he's back healthy and hoping that a few schools at least stand up and take notice now that he's gotten his highlight tape out.

"I had to sit out four games with a knee sprain, so I only got to play in six games total," Richard told JCFootball.com recently. "It was frustrating, but I think I played well when I was in there, it just wasn't as much as I wanted it to be."

Richard has impressive physical stats to go with his nice frame. He runs the 40 in 4.45 seconds and has a 34-inch vertical.

"I don't think you can say I'm a speed guy or a possession guy," Richard said. "I'm a combination of both because I can get open and run away from people or I can go across the middle and take the hit to get us the first down and keep the chains moving.

"It's really whatever a team needs me to do."

After high school where he was an all-state performer at Venton High School in Louisiana, Richard signed with Southeast Louisiana, but a family situation took him to Virginia where he began working as a physical trainer.

"I pretty much gave up on football altogether, but some friends were talking to me about playing ball again," Richard said. "I didn't know how to get back into it though, so someone suggested I look into playing JC ball and when I got on line I saw how good Santa Monica was at getting their guys transferred to four-year schools and I felt like that would be a good fit for me so that's how I ended up here."

As a redshirt freshman in 2006, Richard posted 34 receptions for 321 yards and six touchdowns.

"I had a good season that year and I thought this season was going to be better but that injury came along," Richard said. "I just hope someone gives me a chance and looks at my tape because I think I have a good chance to do really well at the next level."

So far on the recruiting front, Richard is hearing from several D-1AA schools.

"Texas A&M Commerce and Southeast Missouri are the ones really contacting me right now," Richard said. "Idaho called my coaches recently and asked for my film and my transcripts, but that's pretty recent so I don't know how interested they are."

Richard will graduate in May and because he took a redshirt season his first year out of high school, he'll have two years to play two wherever he ends up.

Carlton Richard Scout Profile