The Grind, presented by Bank of Clarendon: Crestwood's Richardson dazzles on gridiron, in classroom

Crestwood's Jeremie Richardson is the definition of a jack of all trades.

On the football field, he's more than ready to show out on either side of the ball. He earned all-state honors as a receiver last year, but he lined up at corner when the Knights needed him, too. Off the field, he's just as impressive. He's a topflight student with a 3.7 GPA and still finds the time to help raise his massive group of younger siblings.

Jeremie really does it all, and he won't stop anytime soon.

"His work ethic is awesome," Jeremie Richardson Sr. said of his son. "He gets up in the morning, goes to the gym, goes to practice, comes back home and helps out with the family. Then he gets up the next morning and does the same thing. He grinds real hard. He has a big plate; he takes on a lot as a kid at his age."

EARLY DAYS

Jeremie has a familiar background for many Sumterites. He didn't grow up in the best neighborhood, but he always tried to make life easier for those around him.

"He was always a figure to look up to for a lot of kids in the neighborhood with sports," Jeremie Sr. said. "He helps other kids with schooling, helps out in the neighborhood. He's just a great kid."

He grew up with a love for both basketball and football. As time passed, football kept stealing more and more of his attention.

"I realized football was my way out," Jeremie said.

Jeremie spent his Friday nights at Donald L. Crolley Stadium dreaming of one day taking that field. He idolized players like Josh and Chris Simon, who both went on to have successful college careers. Josh Simon is preparing for his final collegiate season as the tight end at South Carolina and set a path that Jeremie wanted to follow.

"When I was growing up, I always was at Crestwood games as a little kid, just playing in the field, playing football, watching them play football. One day, I was going to be on that field, and my time came really fast," he said. "Everybody in a community, in Dalzell and Rembert, they love Crestwood. Just to play on that field, it's a big accomplishment. I really can't put into words how much I love it because I love my coaches, I love everything about Crestwood."

Before getting to Crestwood, Jeremie went to Ebenezer Middle School. There, he would meet a coach who changed his life forever, Elijah Oaks, AKA Hooch. Hooch was the head coach at Ebenezer when he got out of school and immediately took Jeremie under his wing.

"I used to take him home every day, take him to the house and just build that relationship with him," Hooch said. "It always used to just be me and him; he'd come to the house with my family. Typical love."

While Jeremie was a stellar athlete, that wasn't what drew Hooch to the future star.

"What jumped out to me first was that Jeremie was in honors. He was an honor student at Ebenezer, and he was making plays on the field. That's a well-rounded athlete," said Hooch, who now coaches the defensive line for Crestwood. "He's really respectful, was always doing what he was supposed to, never really got in trouble at school, and his grades were good. He checked all of the boxes."

ELEVATING HIS GAME

Jeremie moved around from offense to defense during his football career. As a freshman, he played some receiver at the lower levels. When he jumped up to varsity, he was a defensive player, lining up at linebacker and corner until last year when the Knights decided to try him at receiver again. Crestwood had a veteran quarterback in Javion Martin but lost most of their receiving corps from the year before. They needed someone to step up, and Jeremie was happy to answer the call.

"Once we switched him over, he made a few plays, and we were like, 'Oh yeah, that's his home, right there,'" Hooch said. "And he's been making plays ever since."

Jeremie didn't blink when coaches asked him to make the move.

"I love the game of football. My drive is very high about the game, so it was just transitioning to a new position and just helping my team out," he said. "It didn't really matter, I've just gotta do what I've gotta do to help out my team."

Jeremie's breakout game came early, as the Knights faced off against then-SCHSL 2A powerhouse Gray Collegiate on Aug. 25. Crestwood and Gray played one of the most exciting games of high school football that Friday night, falling just short in a 62-60 overtime thriller. Jeremie was a menace, catching seven passes for 122 yards and a touchdown, while also lining up at corner for the Knights.

"The atmosphere was different. As soon as you walk in, you already know that they were just looking like, 'Yeah, we're about to beat them,'" he said. "I scored a touchdown to tie the game, so my confidence was just really high because I had the team on my back at that point. And I played defense. I was playing cornerback because Khalil Moody was having cramps and stuff, so I was just doing my part to help my team.

Something clicked in Jeremie that night.

"It was like I'm here now," he said. "There's no turning around."

Instead, Jeremie barreled full-steam ahead. He finished the season catching 49 passes for 946 yards and six touchdowns, adding one score on the ground. He and Martin both earned all-state honors as the leaders of one of 3A's most potent passing offenses. For Jeremie Sr., the season was an absolute blessing.

"It made me proud. It made me feel like I did something right, that I raised my son right," said the Richardson patriarch. "Knowing that I came from a struggle and have a successful child like him. Just everyone cheering his name, it felt really good."

FOLLOWING UP ON A BREAKOUT

Jeremie still has one season of high school football left, and he isn't resting on his laurels.

"It's my prove it year," he said. "Last year is set in stone; this year, I have to go above and beyond."

Crestwood is playing with a similar mindset as a team. The Knights lost a ton of seniors, all-state players like Martin, Moody, Seneca Moore, Javion Lammie and Azarian Yates to name a few. While some people may question their ability to back up a trip to the third round of the playoffs without those stars, Jeremie and the Knights aren't worried.

"Me personally, I really don't worry about the media or what people are saying. I just want to play the game of football. I want to play something that I love," he said. "Some people have their doubts about us at the beginning of season, but we don't look into it like that. We just work hard, grinding.

"(Last season) gave us confidence, but if you really love the game, you have to put in blood, sweat and tears. That's last year, and our seniors are gone. We're not resetting, we're reloading. The seniors are gone. It's just us now. They made their statement; now it's time to make ours."

So Jeremie and his teammates went to work this offseason. Jaydis Williams served as the team's backup QB last year while playing receiver, but he's back at quarterback this fall. Jeremie spent his summer catching as many passes from Jaydis as possible.

"I was training constantly," Jeremie said. "On the weekends, just training, training, training because it's my last year coming up. It's my statement. It's my story. This isn't the end of my story, just into the new chapter."

Hooch expects big things from the star wide out, even after making the jump up to SCHSL 4A.

"I expect the same thing but better," the CHS coach said. "We're still going to put him on defense when we need him. He's still going to make his plays on offense. Nothing really has changed, he's just going to be bigger, faster and stronger and know a lot more football this year. Just better."

LEADERSHIP

While some players need to learn how to step into a leadership role as a senior, it's nothing new for Jeremie.

"Jeremie has always been a leader, so that wasn't a hard transition for him," Hooch said. "He's always been the first one there, last one to leave type of player. He's always been a leader on every team he's been on. … He'll talk trash, he'll let those boys know what they need to do. He's a natural-born leader."

As an older brother to more than a dozen siblings, Jeremie was literally born to lead.

"I'm gonna do the best I can for them to follow in my footsteps, just helping them," Jeremie said of his younger teammates. "Even in the offseason, when my season's done, I'm gonna still help, coming back to school and help them learn route running, everything. Just helping the community, giving back to what was given to me."

Jeremie is also great at finding the balance between fun and work.

"Jeremie is a big kid, I'm telling you," Hooch said. "He's just always happy, he loves to play, he just loves to be a kid. I never see him really mad; he's always happy. I just love him."

FUTURE ON THE GRIDIRON

Jeremie is still sorting through the struggles of college recruitment. He received his first offer on May 13 from Fayetteville State University, and he's been in talks with other programs throughout the process. But he isn't stressing too much about offers.

"Going into my senior season, I'm just looking at what are the next goals? Even if football doesn't work out, I know I can lean back on college," he said.

Jeremie made the rounds at camps this summer, going to the University of North Carolina, North Greenville and N.C. State. He loved the chance to compete against some of the best athletes in the country as he tries to grab the attention of colleges.

"Just being there was like a dream come true to me because I always wanted to play on Saturdays," he said. "To be the best, you've gotta beat the best; that's my motto. Just going to play with some of the top (talent), it really shows me where I'm at, what I need to work on in my technique."