4-star LB rates Irish visit near perfect

Rivals250 linebacker Morrice Richardson out of Atlanta (Ga.) Westlake took his second straight official visit last weekend to South Bend. The 6-foot-2, 228-pounder was very impressed with the Irish players, coaches and atmosphere on the trip.

"It was a good visit and everything was nice, the campus was clean, facilities were great and the people were nice and smart," he said. "I got there on Saturday morning and went to the dean of admissions and had an interview with him. After that, I went to mass to pray with the team and then I went to the stadium to see the game.

"Later I hung out with my host Maurice Crum. He was a great host and very talkative. The big thing he told me was that the team is very athletic, but also has an impressive 3.0 GPA. I like that all the guys on the team are goal oriented whether they start or not.

"On Sunday, I took an academic tour. Talked to professors, advisors and coaches, all of the coaches were great people and I can't pick one out because they were all wonderful. Coach Weis is very down to earth, a great guy and I liked the fact that when he tells you something you can bank on it. He really impressed me and knew stuff about me I was thinking, how did you know that?"

The four-star prospect enjoyed taking in Notre Dame's 42-21 victory over Navy.

"The game was good, but obviously Navy wasn't going to be a huge challenge for them," he said. "I actually thought the best part of the whole game was right before it started when the Irish players went over and saluted the Naval Academy. That was very classy and something coach Weis instills in his players.

"Besides that, the atmosphere there was great and the fans are really smart. They aren't all intoxicated. When there is a chant, the whole crowd is involved and it really seemed like the fans had it choreographed which was cool."

Richardson rated his trip to Notre Dame a near perfect 9.5 or 10.

"Of course the city there isn't electrifying like Atlanta, but they have a city you can still have fun in," he said. "I think all the schools are pretty even still. I felt this visit was very much the same as my trip to Virginia Tech last week."

The No. 14 outside linebacker's third and perhaps final official is scheduled for November 25th, but Richardson may not make the trip.

"I asked Florida about making the trip and they told me I can come unofficially, but the officials might all be filled up," he said. "I don't know if I'm going to head down there for an unofficial. I believe it's probably 50/50 right now. We'll just have to see what happens and I'll make a decision closer to the date."