John Marcase

For The Town Talk

There were many chances for Jalen Richard to give up.

The knee injury that robbed him of his senior year at Peabody Magnet a year after rushing for almost 2,300 yards and scoring 33 touchdowns and being named the All-Cenla Player of the Year.

The winless season at Southern Miss.

The nagging injuries that wouldn’t leave him alone.

When he was finally healthy for his senior season in Hattiesburg, academic problems almost derailed him. And this coming from an honor graduate at Peabody and former student at Phoenix Magnet Elementary.

Yes, Richard could’ve thrown in the towel when, despite rushing for 1,000 yards and a dozen touchdowns as a senior for Southern Miss, no team took him in the NFL Draft.

Although the Tampa Bay Bucs now employ his college coach, Todd Monken, as offensive coordinator, they didn’t offer him a tryout.

No, the only offer for Richard came from the Oakland Raiders. It was a tryout at rookie minicamp in May.

Perhaps that is what flashed through Richard’s mind a week ago when he peeked at the massive new scoreboards in the Superdome to see if anyone on the Saints defense was going to catch him.

Richard’s 75-yard fourth-quarter touchdown run not only helped the Raiders tie the game at 27-27 following a two-point conversion, it was the first time he carried the ball, becoming just the fourth player in NFL history to score on a run of 75 yards or more in his debut. The last time it happened was 1979, or 14 years before Jalen was born.

In an opening weekend of many surprises throughout the NFL, none was bigger than the impact Richard had in the Raiders’ 35-34 win over the Saints.

“He is such a great story,” said Raiders coach Jack Del Rio. “The young man came into our camp as an undrafted (player). He did things like that every day. It’s a great story of a young man that just willed his way onto this football team.”

Even after Richard passed his tryout and earned an invitation to training camp, the odds were still against him making a team that is a trendy pick to win the AFC West.

Missing time with nagging injuries during camp didn’t help, either.

But that’s the thing about Richard. If there is any player that knows about overcoming injuries and persevering, it’s him.

Injuries have never slowed Richard, and as the day arrived for NFL teams to get to their 53-man roster, Richard survived and was officially a Raider.

His first regular-season game took place an hour from his birthplace, Baton Rouge, and just three hours from home in Alexandria. It also would be the first time Richard had visited the Superdome.

If he was nervous, it never showed. On his first play from scrimmage early in the game, he caught a low pass from Derek Carr, converting a third-and-seven to continue a drive that ended in Oakland’s first touchdown.

Late in the fourth quarter and Oakland needing to score a touchdown to pull within a point of the Saints, Richard drew a critical pass interference call to continue the drive.

He would finish with 84 yards rushing on three carries, 11 yards receiving on two receptions and return one punt for 6 yards.

“I’m from Alexandria, Louisiana,” Richard told reporters after the game. “I went to Southern Miss, battled injuries, was undrafted, a trial guy, and then to make the 53, and come back (to) your home state, and then to perform and make an impact to help the team win most of all, words can’t express it.

“I’m blessed I could come and have a day like this in my home state.”

Perhaps the only thing that went wrong was he forgot to keep the football after scoring his touchdown.

Forgive him. After all, he is just a rookie, but one the Raiders are high on.

“Coming home like this and to take his first carry and go 70-plus yards, it was just a special moment for him,” said Del Rio. “Obviously, we are very pleased with him.”

Richard has a simple explanation for why he has been able to overcome the many obstacles he has faced.

“I’m a blessed individual,” he says. “I hope I can be a focal point that at the end of the day, that no matter what you want to do in life, if you keep God first, and if you want it bad enough, you can achieve anything you want.”

John Marcase is a former assistant managing editor and sports editor of The Town Talk. He writes a weekly column.