Princeton's Richardson signs to play football at N.C. Wesleyan

By Justin Hayes
Published in Sports on March 17, 2016 1:48 PM

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jhayes@newsargus.com

PRINCETON -- Kiadae Richardson wants to go places in life. Big places. He just wants them to look like home.

And home is Princeton, a sleepy, one stop-light conjunction along Highway 70 east, rooted squarely between Goldsboro and Pine Level. At last check, there is a Hardee's. There is a grocery store -- Piggly Wiggly -- and a Handy Mart.

Even if you've never been there, it's familiar.

But in roughly four months, Richardson will be trading that familiarity for the opportunity to play collegiate football at North Carolina Wesleyan College in Rocky Mount.

Flanked by his parents and coaches Wednesday, the Bulldog tailback signed with the Battling Bishops, who compete in the ever-evolving USA South Athletic Conference. The Division III league, which now includes 16 institutions, stretches from North Carolina to Alabama.

Richardson's immediate surroundings, however, will resemble home.

The Wesleyan campus -- which houses a student body of roughly 1,500 liberal arts students -- bears a striking facsimile to all things Princeton.

Quiet, two-lane highways. Loblolly pines. Even a Handy Mart. It's the type of place where folks work alongside one another, not against the grain of each other.

It's a concept with which the senior is acutely familiar.

For two years, Richardson played behind heralded back Johnny Frazier, who is now at N.C. State. The experience of not sitting in the lead chair is one that often haunts and sours blue-chip athletes, but one the future Bishop used to his advantage.

In many ways, it helped mold his approach to football.

"It's the communication," Richardson said of working with teammates. "If you don't talk, there's not a lot of team chemistry. You have to be able to talk with each other."

Princeton's head coach, Travis Gaster, referred to his senior as an unassuming, sturdy leader -- one for whom personal glory means little.

"We ran him inside a lot," said Gaster. "And he has great hips... broke a lot of tackles. Kiadae has a lot of potential."

For Richardson, running inside meant heavy doses of anonymity, but represents much about who the young man is -- a coveted combination of diligence, hard work and personal sacrifice.

And in a crowded Wesleyan backfield, those character traits will be vital to his performance over the next four years.

"I've checked out the roster, (and) I have a lot of competition to go up against," Richardson. "But if I keep working, I feel like I can earn a spot."