Tennessee player Antonio Richardson talks with reporters during the Southeastern Conference football Media Days in Hoover, Ala., Wednesday, July 17, 2013.HOOVER, Ala. – The overwhelming expectation is this season will be Antonio “Tiny” Richardson’s last at Tennessee, but the Volunteers’ star left tackle pumped the brakes on the notion he’ll enter the NFL draft after his junior year.
The 6-foot-6, 318-pounder said Wednesday morning during the first of more than a dozen interviews at SEC media days that’s simply focused on this season and nothing beyond.
“I’m worried about winning an SEC championship,” Richardson said. “The NFL doesn’t even matter in my mind right now. We’ve got an offensive line who could all play in the NFL, but our focus right now is winning games.”
The Nashville product did admit, though, that he’s “in the process” of taking out an insurance policy, as many NFL-bound typically do. Richardson may be the Vols’ most talented player, and he’s part of a veteran offensive line that’s the cornerstone of a rebuilding offense. Though he sat out spring practice recovering from offseason surgery, Tennessee’s run-heavy offseason workout program has him down to the lowest weight of his college career.
“The thing is if you don’t perform, you’re not going to get there,” Richardson said. “So it’s like if I don’t perform this year, or the next year, whenever I decide to leave, I’m not going to get there. I have to focus on my performance before I can really focus on the NFL.”