Tre Richardson Shows He Can Be a Tone Setter

NASHVILLE, Tenn. – Vanderbilt really does have a new weapon this season.

Vanderbilt’s newest wide receiver Tre Richardson played a pivotal role in Vanderbilt’s season-opening win over Charleston Southern Saturday night. The Washburn transfer showed out early and often as he finished with five receptions for 74 yards, four of them coming in the first half.

Richardson set the tone on the first drive of the game as he caught back-to-back passes from quarterback Diego Pavia for 20 yards. His receptions set up Vanderbilt inside the 10-yard line, where the Commodores scored their first touchdown of the season thanks to a Pavia pass to Kayleb Barnett.

"I thought there were some really good catching runs there. Obviously, we've seen that in practice. He's just been such a steady contributor through training camp, catches the ball well. And again, he can hit the gas and get the ball vertical, too,” Vanderbilt head coach Clark Lea said postgame.

Richardson’s speed and skills were on display during the final drive of the first quarter as well. He tacked on two more receptions for 29 more yards. Once again, he set up his team in Charleston Southern territory on a drive that was capped off with a rushing touchdown from AJ Newberry to bury the Buccaneers early.

Richardson was talked about extensively throughout training camp as a player that could serve as a meaningful contributor on the offense this season. But with everything offseason related, fans and coaches never truly know what will happen when the season revs up. Saturday night showed that Richardson could certainly impact the game in a big way through extending drives and helping his team push the ball down the field.

“I was happy for him, you know, I mean, he's had a wayward path to Vanderbilt,” Lea said. “He's been such a great team member for us, and I'm grateful to have him here. And you, his first time in black and gold, I felt like he represented himself really well, and like you said, I mean, to have him and Kayleb [Barnett] contributing there early in those drives was important, and we're going to need more of them.”

Richardson came to Nashville as a 5-foot-10 receiver from Division II Washburn University. While he had nearly 1,000 receiving yards in his sophomore season, making the jump up to the SEC is a big one. Throughout camp, and in Vanderbilt’s first game, Richardson has seemed to have handled the adjustment well and is starting his FBS career off on the right foot.

Where Richardson’s production and usage goes from here is yet to be seen. But there is no question that putting on a strong first impression helps the coaching staff create more plays for Richardson to become a staple in the offense.

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