SoCal DB lands No. 1

You knew that the day was going to come that three-star cornerback Shaquille Richardson (6-0, 182, 4.57) from Los Alamitos, Calif., would get his first offer and that day came yesterday evening when he landed his first offer.

"Shaquille picked up his first offer from Utah," mentor Byron Moore, Sr., said. "Shaq and his mom Sharon are very excited and look forward to learning more about Utah.

"Shaquille has been outstanding at the camps he has attended this spring even winning the NIKE Camp defensive back MVP award," Moore said. "He's not finished attending camps yet as he will be camping at UCLA, USC, Arizona State and Washington."

Richardson is also being compared to some of the other great defensive backs that have played at Los Alamitos over the years and after his NIKE Camp performance in April won a Los Al "Dude" shirt given to only a few players on the Los Al team. You can only get that shirt by doing the things in the offseason that will get him ready to perform at the high level that has made Los Alamitos one of the Southern California's best programs over the past 20 years.

In an earlier interview with Los Alamitos coach John Barnes, he had high praise for Richardson.

"I compare Shaq to (San Diego Charger) Antoine Cason at the same stage," Barnes said. "It was about this time that Antoine started to take seriously his weight training and really upped his work ethic.

"As Shaq started to gain confidence, he started to play very well for us," Barnes said. "He started to make plays."

"Shaq is good in the weight room and good on the field," Barnes said. "I think that he is going to be very special."

As a junior, Richardson earned second-team all-league after accounting for over 20 tackles and one interception.