Trent Richardson goes from being told he’ll never run again to his goal of becoming the best NFL back that ever lived

BEREA, Ohio — When Trent Richardson wasn’t dodging bullets in his hometown of Pensacola, Fla., he was trying to prove wrong the doctors who told him he’d never run again and cope with being a dad at 16.

At one point, after his second ankle surgery and with a baby girl in his arms, he nearly gave up the game he loved so much. Luckily for the Browns, he didn’t.

“It’s a miracle that I’ve gotten to this point,” he said. “Now that I’m here, I want to be remembered as the most dominant player to ever play the game.”

Read more: connect.cleveland.com

What if Bear Bryant hadn’t come ‘home’ to Alabama?

Alabama and its legion of fans are preparing for Monday’s national championship game, in which the Tide will play for their eighth national title of the modern era.

But what if mama hadn’t called? What if Bear Bryant had never returned “home” to coach the Tide?

Pretty coeds certainly would not be attending football games wearing houndstooth hats. More important, Alabama wouldn’t be one of the two or three most celebrated programs in the country.

Read more from Rivals.com

1.5.12

Ramblings on Game week (@ 5am in the morning)

I was thinking about how much college football has changed since 1980. You know since Oklahoma, Nebraska & Alabama we’re dominating college football.

The Bear, Switzer & Osborne were the guys when I started watching college football. One program in the deep south was full of talent and had outstanding coaching: Alabama.

Oklahoma was Thug U. – Loaded with NFL talent, Switzer would sign anybody and do whatever was needed to sign a kid. Switzer grew up in a tough environment, and he believed in giving every kid a chance. He wasn’t worried about the kids becoming “well-rounded” men. He wanted to win and win big. Switzer was in your face.

Then you had Nebraska and Tom Osborne. Osborne didn’t reach like Switzer. He signed what today would be considered highly rated 3-star players and redshirted everybody. 99% of the kids in Lincoln redshirted. Osborne and his staff were into player development, and Osborne believed in the student-athlete concept. Nebraska also had the cutting-edge strength and conditioning program in the country. So while he didn’t have the pure athletes Oklahoma had – Nebraska relied on disciplined, good (not great) and smart redshirt juniors & Seniors.

 Back then Oklahoma was the Dallas Cowboys just one step away from complete and total disaster which eventually happened & Nebraska was the Pittsburgh Steelers. Even though Switzer dominated for a time in the 1970s & 1980s it was Osborne who had the last laugh. He stayed around longer and eventually won those coveted National Championships in the mid-1990s years after Switzer was run out of Norman for breaking every rule in the book.

 Bo Bounds is the host of the Out of Bounds show on ESPN 105.9 The Zone in Jackson, MS…..Where SEC football meets the Y’all Lifestyle. For more info go to http://yalllifestyle.com.