Tag: Kaden Richardson

Playing ends, coaching begins

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Kooper Richardson had the option in 2021 of remaining at UC Davis as a graduate student or entering the transfer portal. The offensive tackle would have probably remained with the Aggies if he could have a position to call his own, but he felt as if he was no longer wanted.

The first indication of that came after COVID-19 wiped out the 2020 season. Five games in the spring of 2021 were compensation without costing the players a year of eligibility. Those games cost Richardson , however, as he went from starting 24 games in 2018-19 to having to share playing time.

Kooper Richarson (77) started his college career at UC Davis, finished it in 2021 at Sacramento State and was recently hired as a graduate assistant at Boise State.

Tim Keane might have stood a chance of talking Richardson into staying, but the offensive line coach left UC Davis after the 2019 season to take the same position at Boise State. Richardson will now work alongside Keane in the fall after joining the Broncos as a graduate assistant.

Richardson jumped to Sacramento State after leaving UC Davis to join his father Kris and brother Kaden. Kris might have the longest title of any college coach – assistant head coach, run game coordinator and offensive line coach. He also coached his sons at Folsom High.

Joining the rival Hornets might have also been Richardson’s way of sticking it to UC Davis after being discarded like an old couch. He started all 11 games at right tackle in 2021 for Sacramento State, which finished 8-0 in the Big Sky Conference and advanced to the FCS playoffs.

Mike Cody became the offensive line coach at UC Davis after Keane departed and was promoted to offensive coordinator last season. New head coach Tim Plough will call plays as he did in 2016-19 as the Aggies offensive coordinator, so Cody will return to coaching the offensive line.

Like Keane, Plough left UC Davis in 2019 to became offensive coordinator at Boise State. Plough did not last two seasons in Boise. He was fired in 2022 after a 27-10 loss to UTEP left the Broncos with a 2-2 record. The loss was Boise State’s first in seven meetings with UTEP since 2000.

Plough found a new job in 2023 as the tight ends coach at Cal and was offered a promotion to offensive coordinator after the season. The opportunity to return to UC Davis, his alma mater, following Dan Hawkins’ retirement was an offer he simply could not refuse.

Thankful for tankful of talent

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Depth has been paying dividends for Sacramento State’s offense this season with 15 players scoring touchdowns – seven did so last Saturday in a 51-16 victory over Idaho State – and eight linemen starting at least one game. Center Nathan Mejia and left guard Jackson Slater are the only linemen to start at the same position in each game.

Slater has started 30 consecutive games dating to 2019. The only lineman with a longer streak is fellow junior Ivan Garza, who has started each game this season and 32 in a row. He has split his eight starts evenly between left and right tackle this season.

Ivan Garza has split his eight starts this season between left and right tackle.

Aidan Meek started at right tackle in the season opener at Nicholls State, but the sophomore broke his clavicle in that game. He returned to start at right guard Oct. 14 at Northern Colorado and moved back to right tackle the following week against Montana State.

Right guard Kendall Riley also started and was injured in the opener. He returned in the 40-32 loss to Montana State. Kaden Richardson filled in for Riley at right guard for four games. The junior is the son of Hornets offensive line coach Kris Richardson and the little brother of Kooper, the former Hornets tackle who now assists his father.

Trey Stiefel and Jordan Stanley have also come to the rescue on the line. Stiefel started three games at left tackle when Garza switched to the right side. Stanley has made two starts at right tackle. He left Sacramento State after playing with the Hornets in 2019 and returned as a senior this season to be reunited with his twin brother Jett.

Jett Stanley is a defensive lineman who has started 33 consecutive games, the longest streak of any current Hornet. He was the Defensive Player of the Week in the Big Sky Conference after collecting three sacks Sept. 16 in the 30-23 victory over Stanford.

Center Nathan Mejia finds his helmet to be a tight squeeze during practice.

Kris Richardson enjoyed the luxury of having the same starting five on the line throughout the regular season in 2022 with Slater, Mejia, Garza, Stiefel and Brandon Weldon. Stiefel sustained a knee injury in the Causeway Classic, so Weldon moved to left tackle and was replaced at right guard by Riley in the two playoff games.

Sacramento State is No. 7 in the FCS rankings despite playing musical chairs on the offensive line. There have been five different starting combinations this season. The starting five in the past two games has been Slater, Mejia, Garza, Riley and Meek. Whatever continuity those five have developed will be put to the test Saturday in Missoula when Sacramento State tangles with No. 3 Montana.

Montana and Idaho are tied atop the Big Sky at 4-1 with the Vandals’ loss coming against the Grizzlies on Oct. 14. Montana lost to Northern Arizona in the Big Sky opener for both teams on Sept. 23.

Push will come to shove Saturday when the Hornets try to run the ball against the Grizzlies. Montana leads all FCS teams in fewest rushing yards allowed at 76.8 per game. The Grizzlies have yielded four rushing touchdowns. Sacramento State is averaging 189.9 rushing yards per game after gouging Idaho State for 273 and three touchdowns.

Sacramento State should go to the FCS playoffs for the fourth consecutive year. The Hornets are 6-2 with three weeks to go in the regular season and teams with seven wins are virtually guaranteed of going. UC Davis and Portland State are both 4-4, so the loser of Saturday’s game in Davis will have no chance of reaching seven victories.

The Hornets and Aggies will meet in the 70th edition of the Causeway Classic on Nov. 18 in Davis. Sacramento State has won three in a row against UC Davis after losing seven of the previous nine meetings. The Aggies lead the series 46-23.