Junior wide receiver Jared Richardson smiles during a game against Delaware on Sep. 21.
Credit: Sonali ChandyOn a cold January night, Penn football practices into the late hours. The players’ breath is visible in the air as they huddle in their position groups while the various coaches bark out orders. The temperature is turning skin to brittle ice as the wind comes in to shatter spectators and players alike.
The center of this coliseum is filled with over a hundred players, coaches, staffers, officials, and recruits while the spectator section, with a seating capacity of 52,958, is barren.
This is the first practice after a deflating season, with a 6-4 finish that saw the team fall out of contention for an Ivy title late in the campaign. Ending the season in failure, the team finds itself back at step one: looking forward to the start of the next season.
This excludes the man who has sat through 20 years of “step ones”: John Richardson, the father of junior wide receiver Jared Richardson.
“My dad was my coach from the time I was five until middle school … I owe my parents everything,” Jared Richardson said. “My dad coached me, but also all that type of stuff, taking me to practice, anything you can think of, he’s done it … from when I was five to 20, he hasn’t missed a single game.”
One man in the stands, and a star on the field: The practice epitomized everything there is to know about Penn’s number one wide receiver.
Football has always been a part of Richardson’s life. His father John Richardson was a lineman at West Virginia University, and his brother also pursued football. For many, football is so much more than a game — it’s an opportunity, a way of life, and a foundational pillar for success. Richardson sees it no differently.
Playing quarterback in high school at Bethlehem Catholic, a school just 40 minutes north of Penn in the Poconos, Richardson knew he didn't just want to follow in his family’s footsteps — he wanted to surpass them.
“[My father] was at West Virginia, and the coach at the time, Don Neal, said, ‘We can use you, but you're not going to play,’” Richardson said. “And once he told my dad that, my dad was like, ‘You know what, why am I here?’”
Richardson used his father’s experience to motivate himself to work harder — to put his head down and push for his goals.
“He was willing to learn, he was willing to work,” Richardson’s high school coach Joe Henrich said. “You know, he was a hardworking kid that really put a lot of time and energy and effort into what he did.”
Despite praise from his coaches and success on the field, Richardson was not heavily recruited as quarterback during his high school career. After eventually being offered a spot on Penn’s roster as a wide receiver — a jump that made sense with his six-foot-four frame and blazing speed — Richardson knew where he wanted to commit.
“Not every quarterback can convert to a wide receiver, but many have,” Henrich said. “You just get into these things where the college recruiting process is so difficult, and, you know, with the kids that are out there, just certain guys that aren’t willing to take a chance, and there are some that are.”
On top of the ability to earn playing time, Richardson also understood the benefits of having a Penn degree as his backup plan while striving for gridiron greatness.
“You know, I gotta put on for the family. I gotta do it for the name. That’s my bag, so I could be the one that can make it,” Richardson said. “I’m at a great institution, so this degree is like my backup plan. But, you know, I got plan 1A and 1B. 1A is going to the league, 1B is getting a great job.”
After not recording a catch during his freshman year, in the same situation where his father stood years prior, Richardson looked forward with a hungry attitude. Relegated to a background role, Richardson worked in darkness, attacking every practice, rep, and moment. By sophomore year, Richardson was ready.
In the first game of the 2023 season, Richardson put the Ivy League on notice. Seven catches for 62 yards paced his first outing, an average performance that was only the start of a historic tear. The following week, Richardson hauled in 12 receptions for 139 yards and two touchdowns. A man who had never played wide receiver before looked head and shoulders above the competition.
“Compounding days, you know, great days of preparation, my end goal is the NFL,” Richardson said. “That thought just stays there, I just keep that in the back of my mind, back of my head, you know, I wake up and it’s like another day to be great. It’s a great day to be great.”
As the season rattled along, the accolades piled up. Against Yale, Richardson broke the single-game receptions record for Penn with 17, and against Princeton, he scored three touchdowns in a brutal overtime loss. With Richardson being named first team All-Ivy and finishing second in the conference in yards, catches, and touchdowns, expectations couldn’t be higher.
Through it all, Richardson’s ultimate goal remained top of mind.
“I’m one-on-one with a corner, I am trying to go to the league [NFL], and he is in my way — he is literally in my way of where I am trying to get to,” Richardson said. “So I take it personal, every play that you line up on me, I want to make you look bad. I don't care who it is, [it is] my job to score touchdowns, catch the ball, run, and you are trying to stop me.”
Now into his third season with the Quakers, Richardson continues to press forward. This year, the Quakers find themselves in a difficult position, starting the season 0-3 in Ivy League play. Despite the evident struggles, Richardson believes fully in those around him.
“We could play anybody, and I’m gonna take my 10 other guys on offense, and I’ll take 11 on defense. You can line up anybody you want to, and I’m gonna take my guys every single time,” Richardson said. “The teams that are on our schedule for the rest of the way, I don’t think, wholeheartedly, they can hang with us — that’s just my confidence and I hope the other guys on our team have that same mindset.”
Confidence like Richardson’s is born in the freezing January practices, months away from when the first ball is snapped; the hard work, the uncertainty, and the drive to be great.
Richardson has found tremendous individual success, but only time will tell if team success will follow. Penn hasn’t found itself atop the Ivy League in almost a decade, but if Richardson has anything to say about it, that cold streak will be snapped before he hangs up his collegiate cleats.
“I promise we will get a ring by the time I leave the school,” Richardson said. “I’m doing it for Penn, I’m doing it for y’all, I’m doing it for my family — by the time I am out of here, we will get one. We will get one.”
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