Sometimes we forget that one of the purposes of all those coaches is to keep kids on a rigid schedule. The downside to that is that some players exit for the NFL with no idea of how to manage their own time or how to find intrinsic motivation to take care of the task at hand.
Trent Richardson, it seems, is just such a player:
Trent Richardson: "It’s very easy to get lazy in the NFL" | ProFootballTalk
Richardson, a free agent who is expected to sign with the Ravens, admits that he struggled to keep up his workout routines once he got to the NFL. In college his coaches always told him when to work out, and he thrived on that structure. But in the NFL, he was allowed to work out when he chose — and often he chose not to work out at all. "It’s very easy to get lazy in the NFL — not having everything scheduled and not having everything like at Alabama where it was so structured.
This is it, finally. The last shot for Richardson to redeem himself. And, to his credit, he's taken the grown-up step of admitting that he was just plain lazy the past few years. Getting his body into shape is step two, and it appears he's actually taking that seriously as well -- when talks began with the Ravens he was at 238 pounds (on a 5'11" frame.) He's now down to a more manageable 218, which is closer to his freshman and sophomore weight at Alabama (220-ish.)
So, what do we think? Is this where he finally puts it all together? Or, is Richardson destined to be the butt of Ryan Leaf-type jokes for the next decade?
He is just 25 years old, and has not had many carries since the 2013 season. There's still plenty of tread on the tires should he get it all together.