Maybe someday we'll know more about why the multi-talented D'Vontrey Richardson never got it together as a Nole. For now, we'll settle for some clues from this interview with a Milwaukee Brewers blog. D'vo is currently with the Brewers Class A farm team, the Wisconsin Timber Rattlers. And not exactly setting the Midwest League on fire with his .247 batting average, three HR’s and 22 RBI’s.
Here are the Seminole-centric highlights of that interview:
"I just felt like my time was up (in football). Once I got (to Florida State), people were telling me to choose, and I didn’t want to choose. I just wanted to give it three years and see what opportunities I had. The Brewers liked me, so I had the opportunity to take it, and I took it. Now, I’m trying to take advantage of it."
Q: Low grades prevented you from playing baseball your sophomore season with the Seminoles. What did you do to get back on the field?
A: I just studied more. I just had to put grades first. Had to make close to a 3.0, worked hard that semester and made a 2.8. And then I took summer classes. It was hard work. I just wish I could have been smarter and got the grades early instead of starting my first semester of my sophomore year before the baseball season slacking off a little bit. But you learn from it, from the experiences.
Q: Did you learn anything from playing football for Bobby Bowden?
A: He’s a good guy. He was teaching us football things, but he also tried to teach us about the Bible Christian ways. We had two pastors there, so he always made sure we were doing the right thing on the field and off the field.
Q: You set a Florida State record for the longest TD run by a quarterback, with a 55-yard dash against Chattanooga in 2008. That’s kind of cool, huh? Especially considering you were a backup.
A: Yeah, it’s all right. I was mad at the time because I was supposed to get in a little bit earlier. And when it was my time to go in, I wasn’t really ready because I was a little frustrated. But (then-assistant) coach (Jimbo) Fisher pulled me out to the side, started getting in my face and telling me to snap out of it. So he called a play for me, and I took off. It was fun. No offense, but I wish it had been a bigger situation for that game, a clutch situation.
Q: Did you ever have any shot at being the ‘Noles’ starting quarterback?
A: I was going to move to free safety. When I got there, I was trying to change (positions) the whole time, because it was hard trying to learn the playbook and being over at baseball most of the time. So I was trying to move the whole time, but they wouldn’t let me. But by the 10th, 11th time asking, they were finally going to let me move over.
Q: How fun would it have been to deliver the blows, instead of absorbing them?
A: I would have played the game mad, because I really wanted to play quarterback. That’s kind of why I went to Florida State. But I didn’t really get a true shot. So I would have been mad playing safety. I would have tried to hit.
Q: Was it challenging, playing two sports at the major college level?
A: The challenge was just staying on top of my grades, which I wasn’t really doing. But it wasn’t tough on my body or anything. The offseason is the toughest, especially in football with all the weights and hard work. But right after the football season, I started baseball season, which was fun.
Comments? Questions? Kudos?