Texas A&M is littered with veteran players on both offense and defense ahead of the pivotal 2023 season. One returning senior opposite do-it-all wide receiver Ainias Smith, strong safety Demani Richardson is returning for his fourth and possibly final season with the Maroon and White after leading the 2022 defense with 73 tackles (48 solo), two fumble returns for TDs, and five pass deflections on the season.
According to PFF, Demani Richardson was ranked as the eighth-best returning safety in the country ahead of the 2023 campaign, as Max Chadwick’s reasoning for placing Richardson among the top 10 stems from his plays over the last two seasons:
Richardson is heading into his fifth season as a starting safety for the Aggies. Over the last two years, the senior’s 29 run-defense stops are tied for ninth among Power Five safeties while his 18 coverage stops are tied for fourth.
Albeit the miserable week-to-week losses we all had to endure, Richardson’s gritty consistency was one of the few bright spots. At the same time, his two highlight plays of the year came in the form of the always entertaining “scoop and score” fumble returns that completely flipped the Aggie’s late September win against Arkansas while flipping the momentum in the memorable season finale win against LSU.
🔑 piece to our crew. @therealdemani | #GigEm pic.twitter.com/qtqvlJO2RY
— Texas A&M Football (@AggieFootball) June 20, 2023
Joining senior defensive tackle McKinnley Jackson, Richardson’s leadership of what will still be a young defense populated by members of the historic 2022 recruiting class, and while he’s focused on improving his play to increase his future NFL Draft stock, it’s all about helping the team move forward and focus on achieving the lofty goals they’ve set for in 2023.
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