Richard expects offer soon

 

There has been a steady stream of visitors at Mizzou's spring practices this year. This past Tuesday 2013 Nashville (TN) Christ Presbyterian Academy prospects Paul Adams and Thomas Richard made the trip to Columbia to check out the Tigers. PowerMizzou.com spoke with Richard to see what he thought of his visit to Missouri.

"Practice was great. The receivers looked like they had a bunch of fun and Coach [Pat] Washington seemed like he had a good relationship with the players," said the wide receiver. "I talked to Dorial Green-Beckham and L'Damian Washington. L'Damian was a funny guy and said he loved playing at Mizzou. He's from Louisiana, I think, so he went pretty far away to go [to Mizzou]. That shows what he thinks about the school."

"I went to the team meeting right before practice," Richard added. "They just talked about the plans for the day. How to protect the family was their motto. It was good to get around the team and get a feel for them."

While in Columbia for his visit Richard was able to check out the athletic and academic facilities.

"I was [at Mizzou] from about twelve to six so I saw all the campus pretty much and I saw the athletic facilities. They had the best campus and facilities I've seen so far. I'm thinking about majoring in journalism so I got a chance to sit in a classroom for a bit at the School of Journalism. Obviously they're know for how good their journalism program is so that was very good to see while I was up there."

Richard was at Vanderbilt for their junior day and has been to Tenessee, but wants to visit again soon. In addition he has been hearing from Mizzou, Duke, Clemson, Tennessee, Vanderbilt, Georgia Tech, and Memphis. When it comes time to make a decision Richard has a good idea what he is looking for.

"I'm definitely looking for a school that I feel like will prepare me for the future academically and help me with my career choice," he said. "I want to have a coaching staff that I feel like I have a good relationship with and not just be a player in their eyes. I want it to feel like they actually care about who I am."

Despite his recent visit to Mizzou Richard said he is planning on a return trip to Columbia this Saturday for the spring football game. Again, he'll be accompanied by offensive lineman Paul Adams. Adams already holds and offer from Mizzou and Richard feels like he will be receiving one soon.

"They haven't told me anything specific that I need to work on to get [the offer]," said Richard. "Coach [Pat] Washington actually told me he was going to offer, it's just a matter of time. I think it could come any day now. I'm just waiting for him to call and have me talk with Coach [Gary] Pinkel. It's a pretty important call, but I try not to worry about it too much. It'll happen when it happens. I'm looking forward to it though."

There is a chance that the offer might come while Richard is in attendance at the spring game. PowerMizzou.com will continue to track Richard's recruitment and have updates when they happen.

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