By Matt Moses, Kent Christian, Shanna Reese and McKenzie Scott
Freshman at UTC Charles Giovanni Richardson is the hopeful future of the football department for years to come. Gio came to Chattanooga from Wellington, Fl. after graduating in May and turning down an offer from FAU. Although the sky seemed like the limit for Gio, you have to watch your step on the way there.
Previous to his success at Oxbridge Academy, Richardson had suffered a torn ACL in his freshman season at the school. Distraught, Gio knew what he would have to do in order to get back into playing form and the task at hand seemed no less daunting. The average recovery time for an injury of this magnitude is around 6-9 months. Determined, and with help from the training staff at Oxbridge Academy, Gio recovered in five months and was able to get back on track towards becoming the leader he knew he could be.
After overcoming his injury and becoming the starting quarterback at the end of his Sophomore season, Gio finally had room to breathe. He began his starting campaign with a spring in his step and a cannon for an arm. With these tools, he lead the Thunder Wolves to a 20-4 record on the year and a trip to the state championship game. He finished the year with 1,593 passing yards/ 24 touchdowns, while also rushing for 495 yards and nine scores to boot. He earned all-county honors and cemented himself as a flashy college recruit rising through the ranks. However, life turned its ugly head in Gio’s direction once again; but this time it was bigger than a rehab stint.
The Oxbridge Academy football program was going to be shutdown. There were only 23 players on his football team and the coaches knew they would need more in order to have a functioning football team the following season. Gio was the captain of a sinking ship and declined to go down with it. He transferred to Dwyer High School in the offseason and managed to accumulate offers from schools like FAU and UTC.
Richardson committed to FAU in June 2018 and it looked like Lane Kiffin had hauled in another talented prospect for the owls. However, after playing his senior season at Dwyer, he committed in January of 2019 and committed to the dark horse candidate UTC Mocs in February. He’ll be redshirting this year and preparing to take over as a starting quarterback next fall.
With a new lease on life, Gio says his transition to Chattanooga has been a big one. Although it hasn’t stolen Florida’s top place in his heart, he is liking it well and looks forward to checking out the river here since there are no oceans and luckily no hurricanes like Dorian that hit his family’s home last week.
He talked about his commitment to FAU and the difference it made when the head coaches for UTC came to his home in Florida and had dinner with his family before he fully committed.
Richardson has been under the tutelage of Nick Tiano, the current quarterback for the Mocs and says he looks up to him like an older brother. He’s been careful with teaching him plays, routes, and the leadership that comes along with being a quarterback.
Gio loves the competitive nature between himself and Nick and even talks about trying to beat him in the trash can drills they perform during practice. He is certain that he can fill the large shoes of his predecessor and become the captain he has been training to become his whole career.
A few of his personal goals for next year are to exceed his team and coaches' expectations, transform from a red-shirt to a starter, increase his GPA and continue to get faster and stronger. A lot of the pressure that comes along with his position is mental just as much as physical and he wants to work on both aspects of himself.
When it comes to learning a completely new offense Gio has worked with offensive coordinator Joe Pizzo tirelessly.
Coach Pizzo had many praises of the new recruit and says he will be a heck of a player—coming into a situation completely different mentally for quarterbacks is usually the toughest part--the new offensive plays, spreads, and remembering all of it--the speed is so much faster than in high school he explains. They need to be just as quick mentally as they are once the ball leaves the center’s hands and the play begins.
Pizzo says Gio is ready to play every weekend “He brings some elements to the field that the other two quarterbacks don’t because he is a dual-threat, he can run with the football.”
Coach said his timings are good, he’s accurate and that he’s actually better than they thought when they recruited him.
Regarding whether or not Richardson will be the starting quarterback is hard to say—he’s had no springtime, very few reps and the coaches will play whoever is best for that position at that time. It doesn’t matter where he is at in school or if he’s a redshirt freshman. His development as a quarterback for the future will be one of the top headlines for this football team and its success as a program will lean heavily on it.
With everything that has happened to Gio Richardson in the past two years, at a glance, one could assume this was a eulogy and not a success story. However, he overcame and persevered toward the lofty goals he had set for himself. William Arthur Ward once said,” Adversity causes some men to break and others to break records.” The future is hard to predict but based on Gio’s record against adversity, he can become a great leader for the program and maybe even break some records.
Story and video produced by a team of students from the Sports Writing II class at the University of Tennessee at Chattanooga: Matt Moses, Kent Christian, McKenzie Scott and Shanna Reese.