Tennessee freshman Nu'Keese Richardson was kicked off the team following an arrest on charges of attempted armed robbery.
The University of Florida may have avoided a major issue this week, after it was reported a former recruit was kicked off the University of Tennessee’s squad. Freshman Nu’Keese Richardson, as well as another teammate, were removed from Tennessee’s football program after they were arrested on charges of attempted armed robbery.
According to a police report, Richardson and teammate Mike Edwards approached a parked car at 2 a.m. and brandished a weapon, demanding everyone in the car “Give us everything you’ve got.” When the victims opened their wallets to show they had no money, a third teammate police say was present, urged his teammates to make an escape. They were later found with the other teammate, who has been suspended, and a woman, whom the victims say drove the getaway car. In that car, police found hooded jackets and a pellet gun.
Richardson was the center of an offseason controversy involving an erroneous recruiting violation accusation by Tennessee’s head coach Lane Kiffin against Florida head coach Urban Meyer. At a breakfast with boosters, Kiffin said Meyer repeatedly called Richardson during his official recruiting visit to Tennessee, which Kiffin claimed to be a recruiting violation. Richardson, originally a verbal commit to Florida, eventually signed with Tennessee, prompting Kiffin to say, “I love the fact that the Urban [Meyer] had to cheat, and still didn’t get him.” Unfortunately for Kiffin, calling a recruit during an official visit is not a violation, but falsely accusing a coach of a violation is. Kiffin committed a violation for incorrectly saying another coach committed a violation.
If Richardson had kept his commitment to Florida, the Gators might be the ones dealing with this mess right now. There’s no clear reason why a freshman college football player, on full scholarship at a major program felt the need to allegedly commit an armed robbery, but that is something the Gators do not have to be concerned with while trying to stay on track for its third national championship in four years.
While no program is perfect, and Florida has had problems of its own, Richardson became someone else’s problem when he signed with Tennessee. In this instance, Florida dodged a bullet, or pellet, by the name of Nu’Keese Richardson.
