Trent Richardson took his time exiting the Legion Field turf early Sunday evening. That 2011 smile was back. So were the fans.

Alabama’s former star running back took the long way to this hero’s walk off a professional football field. This was the expectation when the Cleveland Browns drafted him No. 3 overall almost seven years ago.

Yet, the Birmingham Iron star walked off through a shower of love after the team’s debut on a chilly afternoon in this historic bowl. They waited by the fence to show the love he once got running for 1,740 yards as a junior in 2011 when he finished third in the Heisman voting.

The numbers weren’t flashy -- 58 yards on 23 carries for a 2.5-yard average -- but Richardson scored the game’s only two touchdowns in a 26-0 win over the Memphis Express.

At his locker a few moments after the postgame exit, Richardson was still living in the moment when he saw the fans waiting for him.

“That’s love, man,” Richardson said. “It almost brings a tear to my eye to show that everybody is still behind me. These fans have been missing me and they support me.”

There was relief in his voice.

The last few years had not yielded the big return to NFL glory after getting released by the Colts in 2015 and the Raiders in 2016. The 2016 comeback attempt with the Ravens ended early in training camp and his 2017 Canadian Football League effort ended in injury.

Those shortcomings threatened to become his legacy and this Birmingham Iron roster spot would seem like a last chance for the 28-year old.

This felt different.

“I never actually got the chance to play for myself and play for my kids,” Richardson said Sunday. “I always had a lot of stuff on my shoulders and I had a lot I was running for. So, now, I’m just back to a place where it’s just fun. It’s fun, man. I can actually just play for myself and play for my small family. My kids and my fiancé. That’s it. That’s all I need to do. Right there, I have my kids depending on me because they look up to me.

“They think I’m Superman.”

The career revival wasn’t on track for the postgame celebration early on. After running for five yards on each of his first two carries, the Memphis defense had him bottled. By halftime, he had just 17 yards on eight carries.

Holes were non-existent as the Express threw some things at the Iron offensive line they weren’t expecting. That happens with a new league with no film to study. They were left with watching film from the Memphis defensive coordinator’s last job.

“Everything we thought they were going to do,” Richardson said. “They didn’t do it.”

His line had four starters who played at Alabama after he went pro. Brandon Greene, J.C. Hassenauer, Korren Kirven and Dominick Jackson were trying to pave the way.

“They’re pros too,” Greene, the left tackle, said of the defense from a Memphis team coached by Mike Singletary. That Mike Singletary.

It got worse in the third quarter for Richardson when he got stripped for a fumble recovered by former Alabama reserve DB Jonathan Cook.

“I just had to talk to myself,” Richardson said. “I had to talk to the boss and tell myself to get right. You can’t let up. You can’t let down. The one thing I’ve always been able to do is keep my composure.”

With just 18 yards in 11 runs through three quarters, Richardson found his stride.

The four-yard touchdown run with 13:26 left broke things open after the Iron settled for three field goals previously.

“It was really a big relief and it was like ‘Man, I really just got my first touchdown in Bear Bryant’s house,’” Richardson said. “I got to score the first touchdown in Birmingham Iron history. It was big. And, of course, my sons never got to see me play.”

He wasn’t even the first Trent Richardson to score a touchdown in Legion Field. His son, T.J., found the end zone as a five-year old last season playing with six-year olds.

“Now, I can brag to him,” the elder Richardson said. “I scored some touchdowns too.”

Greene, the left tackle from Alabama, had the seal block that freed Richardson for the score.

“It was a crazy moment,” Greene said. “I can’t even explain it. It was surreal, almost.”

Richardson turned around and caught the pass on the two-point conversion that followed the inaugural score. A few minutes later, he punched it in for a five-yard touchdown and the final 26-0 score.

A few vintage Richardson runs set up the final touchdown. Twice he carried piles of defenders for runs reminiscent of his breakout 2011 season. Bullying his way to a first down in a short-yardage play late in the game, Richardson popped up and personally directed the chain gang to move ahead 10 yards.

The old Trent Richardson was back and new Trent Richardson loved it.

“That’s all it’s about,” he said. “It’s been a long time since I had fun playing football. Win, lose or draw, I had fun out there tonight.”

Michael Casagrande is an Alabama beat writer for the Alabama Media Group. Follow him on Twitter @ByCasagrande or on Facebook.