CHARLOTTE – Ahmmon Richards represented himself quite well yesterday (July 18) at ACC Media Days.
Looking dapper as always at the Charlotte Westin, the junior and No. 1 wide receiver for Miami was himself. He displayed a nice combination of calm, cool, collectedness, and confidence when speaking with local and national media members at the big event.
Richards revealed that he’s “100 percent” now after having a successful surgery on his knee. The Maxwell Award Watch List nominee also told media members that he suffered a high ankle sprain during his sophomore season, which ended on Nov. 29 when he tore his meniscus on his left knee.
But that’s now in the past. He’s ready to go, and excited about
what’s ahead.
“The guys, especially the young guys we brought in, we have a lot of depth this year,’’ Richards said of the touted stable of receivers now at Miami. “From last year to this year’s team, I see growth. I feel like those last three games, the way they ended, that just motivated us to be better, individually and as a team. Clearly, last year we didn’t do enough to finish the way we wanted to.”
Richards had more to say at the ACC Media Kickoff.
“I kind of started doing stuff before I was cleared,” he said. “On our own, we’d go to the field and run routes on air, and I’d be out there running without a brace and stuff, running full-speed. It felt great to just have the offseason to get better and just get that chemistry started again.”
Richards said he’s been through a lot over the past several months.
“It was very frustrating,” Richards told The Joe Rose Show on 560 WQAM at the ACC Media Day. “I felt like I couldn’t catch a break because it was one thing after another. I feel like that made me mentally tougher. Everybody has to go through something to get better. That helped me get better for this upcoming year and now I know to take care of my body more and stretch more.”
Richards will be counted on to bounce back in a big way. He’s done it before, when he earned consensus Freshman All-American honors after an impressive 2016 season that culminated with 934 receiving yards (Miami freshman record).
“I put a lot of pressure on myself to be the best player,” Richards said. “I want to hold myself accountable to those expectations. I want to be the best player at all times. You have to go out and produce and do those things.”
Note: In addition to being named a Maxwell Award Watch List nominee, Richards has been selected to the Athlon All-ACC Preseason First Team at wide receiver.
