Coach | 2025 Notre Dame WR/ATH Target Antavious Richardson Is Unique

Robert Sanders didn’t know what he had in Antavious Richardson‍ when Sanders came out of retirement to take over as head coach of Greenville (Ga.) High School last year.

Sanders found out real quick the kind of athlete the 6-foot-3, 190-pound Richardson was.

“The first game we played last year, the opening kickoff of the season, he took it back for a touchdown,” Sanders says of Richardson.

“He took it back for a touchdown and you could kind of see glimpses of what was to come.”

With Richardson leading Greenville at quarterback, Sanders saw plenty more.

“We played Marion County last year and had almost 400 yards all-purpose,” says Sanders. “He ran three long touchdowns. He threw one. And you kind of knew then, ‘Oh, we’ve got something special.’”

Richardson further proved how special he was this past spring, sweeping state titles on the track in the 100, 200 and 400. 

“The thing that is apparent about him on the football field is his speed,” says Sanders. “He's just a rare athlete as far as his speed is concerned.

“You can see it on film. It's like he’s just got a different gear than a lot of kids on the field. Anytime he touches the ball, has his hands on the ball, he can make something happen. I think that's why so many people want him because he's a playmaker on both sides of the ball.”

Just last week, Richardson tossed the winning touchdown pass as time expired lifting Greenville over Columbus.

“He rolled out, he scrambled, the pressure came, he reversed field and he threw about a 30-yard pass to our running back for a touchdown,” Sanders says.

But Sanders has been even more impressed what what he’s learned about Richardson as a person.

Richardson gave a commitment to South Florida over the summer, but schools like Notre Dame, Duke and North Carolina have since come in with scholarship offers while others like Alabama, Auburn, Missouri and Penn State have shown legitimate interest.

“This encapsulates him,” his coach says. “You’ve got a Division-I school talking to him in my office. 

“The first thing he said was, ‘Sir, I've got two teammates that I think y'all might be interested in.’” 

Sanders spoke with him afterward.

“I said, ‘Look son, I love that. And they loved it too, but I'm going to tell you something, everybody ain't you,’” the coach recalls.

Schools initially recruited Richardson as a defensive back, but others are now coming after him as a receiver. Notre Dame likes him at receiver, but isn’t ruling out a future on defense.

“Coach Freeman had a good point,” says Sanders. “He said, ‘Coach, we just want to get him up here and we'll figure out the rest. We'll figure that out.’

“When I talked to Coach Freeman, the coaching staff was kind of debating what to do with him. Is he an offensive guy? Is he a defensive guy? He can do so much. He's an athlete, he can play defensive back, linebacker, quarterback, whatever. And that's the intriguing thing about it. He can do so many things tremendously well, and I think that's the biggest thing, his upside.”

The Irish will get the chance to get Richardson up to South Bend, at least for a visit as he’s scheduled for an official for the Miami-Ohio game Sept. 21st.

He’s also expected to make visits to Alabama and North Carolina, but the Irish absolutely have his attention right now.

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