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NEW ORLEANS – All Jalen Richard could hear was the sound of his pads clapping against his upper body.

The Alexandria, Louisiana native had never stepped foot inside the Mercedes-Benz Superdome until Sunday but knew to expect a raucous environment. After all, “Louisiana is so crazy about the Saints,” Richard reflected after Oakland’s 35-34 win.

On the first carry of his NFL career, all of the screaming and cheering from the 73,028 in attendance became a distant buzz. Richard’s moment of opportunity had become one of tranquility. His focus was on reaching the endzone.

How quickly he got there left a lasting impression on his teammates.

“I wish I was that fast,” quarterback Derek Carr said.

With the Raiders down a score in the fourth quarter, the rookie running back took a handoff from Carr, broke through several arm tackles, found a crease and burst into the open field.

Several tried, but no one could catch the 5-foot-8, 207 pounder en route to a 75-yard rushing touchdown that tied the game at 27-27 with 8:26 remaining.

Five months ago, Richard was a recent college graduate hoping to impress Raiders coaches enough to keep him around past rookie tryouts.

On Sunday, he looked like the furthest thing from an undrafted free agent who battled his way onto this roster.

From a college career littered with injuries to the triumph of making the Raiders 53-man roster last week, everything that went into Richard’s emotional homecoming is the beauty he sees within his own struggle.

“(To) come back home in your home state and then to perform and to make an impact for the team, to help the team win most of all, words can’t express it,” Richard said.

Several of Richard’s former Southern Miss teammates were in attendance as were his parents and other relatives. After he crossed into the end zone, the noise of the Raider fans who made the trek to New Orleans rushed back into the forefront.

This was the moment he had longed for during the grueling days of training camp, the days where injuries forced him to sit out and question whether he had what it took to make it this far.

Fortunately for Richard, he never lost sight of a moment he had dreamed of for so many years.

“I am a patient person and a patient player,” he said. “I was waiting during the game for my number to be called, and when it was called, I knew I had prepared myself to this point to go out there and perform. It doesn’t matter if your first carry is in the fourth quarter or at the beginning of the game, you’ve got to be ready.”

There was no guarantee Richard would be one of the 46 Raiders to dress out against the Saints during preparations last week. Throughout training camp, Richard battled to stay relevant in Oakland’s run scheme and prove his ability as a downhill threat who can help take the load off of No. 1 back Latavius Murray.

While he may not have not noticed his own daily impact, his gritty determination was never lost on his teammates.

“I’ve seen him do stuff like that all training camp,” left tackle Donald Penn said. “You know, I came in as a free agent, I love all free agents that make stuff happen. I’m happy for him. He’s very emotional after this win. That (run) really opened up the doors for us and that gave us the spark we needed in the second half.”

Richard finished as Oakland’s leading rusher with three carries for 84 yards and a score. Seeing how he fits into the Raiders rotation of backs gives him hope that his unit will be called on to provide a spark to put his team over the edge, just like he did in Week 1.

“It’s definitely a four-headed monster,” Richard said. “Taiwan Jones, Latavius (Murray), DeAndre (Washington). Whenever your number is called, you get out there and perform and I think all of us have that ability and that running back room to do anything at any given time when our number is called. It’s very good to have that much talent, that much depth in one room. I think we’ll use that to our advantage the rest of the season.”

Follow Courtney Cronin on Twitter @CourtneyRCronin.