Darryl Richard DT 6'3 303 Georgia Tech

Richard had a great true freshman season, finishing the year with just 14 tackles but seven of them were for a loss, and four of them were sacks. He redshirted the following year because of a knee injury, but bounced back with a solid sophomore season. He had 20 tackles, 3.5 for loss in 2006. Richard came all the way back as a junior, finishing the season with 30 tackles, 11.5 for loss, and 4.5 sacks on the year. The numbers were nearly identical as a senior, where Richard finished with 34 tackles, ten for loss, and four sacks.

Strengths

Richard is a hard working tackle that has gotten it done on and off the field. He graduated in May 2007 and is now in the MBA program at Tech. On the field, Richard shows very good quickness off the snap and has the ability to get into the backfield to disrupt the action on a consistent basis. He is very aggressive, and combined with that first step, make him tough to block on the interior line.

Weaknesses

Richard is a penetrating type of lineman, but he may lack the explosiveness to finish plays off. He can get initial penetration but does not have the speed to chase plays down. He is a disrupter but not a big playmaker. He also needs to get stronger at the point of attack, because powerful college guards have shown the ability to control him and take him out of plays.

Future

Richard is a smart lineman that can disrupt the action. He may not become a huge playmaker but he does impact the game. He is part of a very good Tech defensive line that boasts two potential first day picks in Michael Johnson and Vance Walker, but don’t sleep on Richard. He is a guy who could be a key contributor to a defensive line rotation on Sundays. He failed to distinguish himself at the pro day or combine. He turned in the least amount of reps on the bench amongst all tackles, with just 17 reps.