The University of Tennessee at Chattanooga football team garnered its biggest recruiting commitment yet under new coach Rusty Wright when three-star quarterback Gio Richardson of Palm Beach Gardens, Florida, committed to the Mocs on Wednesday night.
Richardson, who is 6-foot-1 and 195 pounds, had been committed to Florida Atlantic University and coach Lane Kiffin since June 2018 and had offers from at least three other Football Bowl Subdivision programs - Buffalo, Southern Mississippi and the University of Alabama at Birmingham.
In three years as a starter at Oxbridge Academy and William T. Dwyer High School, Richardson passed for 4,552 yards and 76 touchdowns while rushing for 1,085 yards. Scout.com has him rated as the 47th-best dual-threat quarterback in the country and as one of Florida's top 300 recruits.
As a junior, Richardson led Oxbridge to Florida's Class 3A state championship game, where he passed for 286 yards and three touchdowns. The school decided to suspend its football program this past season, leading him to Dwyer.
There, he was part of an 11-2 team that reached the Class 7A playoffs. Richardson's senior season included a win over Palm Beach Lakes in which he rushed for five touchdowns and was named the Palm Beach Post's high school football player of the week.
Wright was hired as UTC's coach in December, and he and his staff have been busy in January with national signing day set for Feb. 6.
Contact Lindsey Young at lyoung@timesfreepress.com or 423-757-6296. Follow him on Twitter @youngsports22.