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Notre Dame Football
ND Vs...Miami Wide Receiver Ahmmon Richards
May 15, 2017
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Football is the ultimate team sport. It's 11 guys working as one to achieve a goal on each play. It's a big reason why Bill Belichick has the mantra, "Do your job". If everyone does their assigned job on a play, then a team can have success.
All of that is true, but there is no doubt that there is a game within the game when it comes to one on one matchups. And for cornerbacks, no one is more isolated in a matchup than them versus a receiver. That's why it's so often said that a corner is on an island. Many times it can be just him and a receiver competing against each other, which is why it's so valuable to have great corners that can win one on one matchups the majority of the time.
Notre Dame has to feel pretty good about their starting cornerbacks they have on the roster currently. Julian Love and Nick Watkins were both impressive during spring ball. The Irish have an opportunity to be very good at that position this season with some solid depth behind those two as well, but they are going to be tested. They may not face a stiffer test than when they have to line up against Miami wide receiver Ahmmon Richards in November.
He led the Canes in receiving last season as a true freshman. In fact, no other freshman put up the kind of numbers he did in the FBS last year. His 49 catches for 934 yards (19.1 yards per reception) was scary good production in year one of college football for him. Unfortunately for the Irish, he is just scratching the surface as to how good he can.
Richards is a perfect reminder for anyone who cares too much about 40 times for high school prospects. It's a positive if a recruit tests out well at a camp with their 40, vertical, or short shuttle. However, these recruits shouldn't be knocked down if they don't run well when they haven't trained to test like the players do at the NFL combine.
His 4.68 40 and 4.66 short shuttle times at a regional Nike camp in 2016 were unimpressive, but they weren't a true reflection of him as an athlete. His film showed that he was plenty fast. When he got to US Army Bowl practices and was up against the best players in the nation, he didn't have trouble getting deep there either. The tape didn't lie. He has plenty of speed and he showed it against college competition as well.
One of the questions with Love and Watkins is whether or not they can handle the guys with elite speed and not allow them to get behind them in coverage. Richards is going to test them in that way and defensive coordinator Mike Elko could be forced to roll coverages towards Richards if they struggle against him.
Receivers don't average almost 20 yards per catch by only running 9 routes all day long. He can make defenders miss in the open field and has the speed to take it the distance. He only had three touchdowns last season, but one was a 77 yard touchdown and the other a 51 yard touchdown. Most of those yards came after he caught the football.
If a corner misses an initial tackle or a safety doesn't have the angle on him, then he gone.
Sometimes an angle doesn't even help. Several West Virginia defenders thought they had the correct angle to make a tackle on him on this play, but he cut back across the field and ran away from everyone for six points.If the defense as a unit isn't disciplined in their pursuit against him, then he can make them pay.
Even when someone like Love, one of the better tackling corners that you'll see at the college level, has Richards lined up one on one it might not matter. Exhibit A of that was last season's Miami game where Richards hurdled Love in the open field.
The frightening part of that play was that Love didn't even go low to hit him. He barely bent his knees and Richards jumped right over top of him. The corners and the defense in general cannot allow him to get loose in the open field or it could equal to bad things for the guys wearing gold helmets.
It's not enough that he can get deep or is slippery after the catch. The cherry on top is that he has big time ball skills and is capable of making extremely difficult catches. He tracks the ball so well over his shoulder like he did on this particular play against Pitt.
That was a borderline Willie Mays level catch.
He beat his man on that play to give him a better shot at adjusting to it, but sometimes the coverage is tight and it still doesn't matter. The only place he can catch this next ball is low and away from the defender. That's where quarterback Brad Kaaya put it and Richards pulled it in with one hand.
Last year Notre Dame held him to 3 catches for 51 yards. He exploded after that with three games over 100 yards and both of those long touchdown catches I showed above. It would be a massive victory for the cornerbacks to keep him in the 50 yard range when the two teams play late in the year in Miami.
They'll have plenty of tape to watch by that time to learn how to best defend him and it might mean that they are forced to bracket him on some plays. We'll also know quite a bit more about Love, Watkins, and the other corners and whether or not they are capable of playing man to man against someone like Richards.
I don't think he is quite as fast as Will Fuller, but he isn't that different in terms of his style of play. He should be one of the best receivers in the nation this fall and it's not going to be an easy task for the Notre Dame secondary to slow him down.
All of that is true, but there is no doubt that there is a game within the game when it comes to one on one matchups. And for cornerbacks, no one is more isolated in a matchup than them versus a receiver. That's why it's so often said that a corner is on an island. Many times it can be just him and a receiver competing against each other, which is why it's so valuable to have great corners that can win one on one matchups the majority of the time.
Notre Dame has to feel pretty good about their starting cornerbacks they have on the roster currently. Julian Love and Nick Watkins were both impressive during spring ball. The Irish have an opportunity to be very good at that position this season with some solid depth behind those two as well, but they are going to be tested. They may not face a stiffer test than when they have to line up against Miami wide receiver Ahmmon Richards in November.
He led the Canes in receiving last season as a true freshman. In fact, no other freshman put up the kind of numbers he did in the FBS last year. His 49 catches for 934 yards (19.1 yards per reception) was scary good production in year one of college football for him. Unfortunately for the Irish, he is just scratching the surface as to how good he can.
Deep speed
Richards is a perfect reminder for anyone who cares too much about 40 times for high school prospects. It's a positive if a recruit tests out well at a camp with their 40, vertical, or short shuttle. However, these recruits shouldn't be knocked down if they don't run well when they haven't trained to test like the players do at the NFL combine.
His 4.68 40 and 4.66 short shuttle times at a regional Nike camp in 2016 were unimpressive, but they weren't a true reflection of him as an athlete. His film showed that he was plenty fast. When he got to US Army Bowl practices and was up against the best players in the nation, he didn't have trouble getting deep there either. The tape didn't lie. He has plenty of speed and he showed it against college competition as well.
One of the questions with Love and Watkins is whether or not they can handle the guys with elite speed and not allow them to get behind them in coverage. Richards is going to test them in that way and defensive coordinator Mike Elko could be forced to roll coverages towards Richards if they struggle against him.
Dangerous after the catch
Receivers don't average almost 20 yards per catch by only running 9 routes all day long. He can make defenders miss in the open field and has the speed to take it the distance. He only had three touchdowns last season, but one was a 77 yard touchdown and the other a 51 yard touchdown. Most of those yards came after he caught the football.
If a corner misses an initial tackle or a safety doesn't have the angle on him, then he gone.
Sometimes an angle doesn't even help. Several West Virginia defenders thought they had the correct angle to make a tackle on him on this play, but he cut back across the field and ran away from everyone for six points.If the defense as a unit isn't disciplined in their pursuit against him, then he can make them pay.
Even when someone like Love, one of the better tackling corners that you'll see at the college level, has Richards lined up one on one it might not matter. Exhibit A of that was last season's Miami game where Richards hurdled Love in the open field.
The frightening part of that play was that Love didn't even go low to hit him. He barely bent his knees and Richards jumped right over top of him. The corners and the defense in general cannot allow him to get loose in the open field or it could equal to bad things for the guys wearing gold helmets.
Elite ball skills
It's not enough that he can get deep or is slippery after the catch. The cherry on top is that he has big time ball skills and is capable of making extremely difficult catches. He tracks the ball so well over his shoulder like he did on this particular play against Pitt.
That was a borderline Willie Mays level catch.
He beat his man on that play to give him a better shot at adjusting to it, but sometimes the coverage is tight and it still doesn't matter. The only place he can catch this next ball is low and away from the defender. That's where quarterback Brad Kaaya put it and Richards pulled it in with one hand.
Last year Notre Dame held him to 3 catches for 51 yards. He exploded after that with three games over 100 yards and both of those long touchdown catches I showed above. It would be a massive victory for the cornerbacks to keep him in the 50 yard range when the two teams play late in the year in Miami.
They'll have plenty of tape to watch by that time to learn how to best defend him and it might mean that they are forced to bracket him on some plays. We'll also know quite a bit more about Love, Watkins, and the other corners and whether or not they are capable of playing man to man against someone like Richards.
I don't think he is quite as fast as Will Fuller, but he isn't that different in terms of his style of play. He should be one of the best receivers in the nation this fall and it's not going to be an easy task for the Notre Dame secondary to slow him down.
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