'Energetic, personable' John Richardson settling in as Arizona's cornerbacks coach

Halfway through Arizona’s first spring practice in full pads, the Wildcats set up a one-on-one drill between the wide receivers and defensive backs. Walk-on Jeffrey Robinson was assigned to jam the receiver at the line of scrimmage, but he held on a smidge too much. Actually, it was textbook holding.

With referees monitoring, yellow flags parachuted in near Robinson.

John Richardson, Arizona’s first-year cornerbacks coach, used it as a teaching moment for Robinson. Richardson helped Robinson off the ground and pointed to each flag to remind him of the mistake.

“You got one flag, two flags, three flags,” Richardson said to Robinson. “This ain’t 7-on-7!”

Having officials at practice flagging players “gives me an opportunity to coach, because no one likes a holding DB,” Richardson said.

“That’s a flag every single play, so we have to learn to play with our feet and not use our hands as much. ... I can’t teach unless those flags are thrown,” Richardson said. “I love (referees) out there. It allows me to hold guys accountable.”

Whether it’s a walk-on or a presumed starter, Richardson won’t mince words with his group. Brutally honest, yes, but it’s constructive.

“I really like to attack the process,” Richardson said. “I really like to coach each guy from top to bottom. If you’re in the room, you should be coached to the intent of everyone on the team. I’m passionate, I like to hold everybody accountable, but I love them.”

Richardson replaced longtime college and NFL assistant DeWayne Walker, who resigned as Arizona’s cornerbacks coach after the 2022 season. To replace Walker, “we had a very specific intention when hiring our next corners coach,” UA coach Jedd Fisch said in February.

“We wanted someone very familiar with our scheme. We wanted someone very familiar with recruiting California, a native of Southern California, and a proven winner,” Fisch said. “Coach Richardson fit the bill on all four accounts.”

Richardson grew up in Compton and played collegiately at FCS powerhouse North Dakota State after a stint at Mt. San Antonio College. Richardson was a two-year starter for the Bison during the 2007 and ‘08 seasons, then became a defensive backs coach at NDSU under Craig Bohl.

During Richardson’s time at NDSU, the Bison led the nation in scoring defense for three straight seasons, surrendering an average of 11.8 points per game. Richardson followed Bohl to Wyoming and helped the Cowboys win the Arizona Bowl in Tucson in 2019.

Nick Rolovich hired Richardson at Washington State, but his career in Pullman ended in 2021 after Rolovich was fired for refusing to comply with the state of Washington’s COVID-19 vaccine mandate; Richardson was among the assistant coaches who were dismissed for that same reason.

Since he was fired, Richardson stepped away from coaching — at least at the college level.

“It was a great time for me to grow as a husband and as a father. I learned a lot about relationships with my kids, and I actually became a flag football coach; that was real fun with my son,” Richardson said. “It’s ironic that all of these places I’ve coached at, I’ve never really got to watch a football game with my son in a college atmosphere, so we did a lot of things that were memorable, a lot of things to create family events and try to create memories during the time we had. We a became a tighter-knit family during that time.”

Richardson and his wife, Sahfiya, have one son, John Michael, and one daughter, Simone Faith.

How is Richardson, the flag football coach?

“He’s a passionate guy,” Richardson said. “(I had to) learn to develop and not think (I) already know schemes and everything like that, so I had to scale it back a little bit and actually teach. But it was one of the purest forms of football that I’ve been around for a long time.“

Richardson and longtime “Desert Swarm” assistant coach Duane Akina are the newbies on Arizona’s defensive staff, but both are consistently among the loudest voices on the field during the Wildcats’ spring practices.

“Coach Rich is energetic, personable and a smart coach; he knows what he’s doing,” veteran cornerback Isaiah Rutherford said.

“Younger dude, so he’s got his cleats on and doing all of the drills with us. It’s cool to see him out there with us. “Very passionate about the game, smart guy, so he gives us a lot of energy in the room — not just the corners but the whole secondary.”

Richardson inherited a group that will look different this year. Star cornerback and four-year starter Christian Roland-Wallace transferred to USC; Treydan Stukes is now expected to start at nickel back; and rising sophomores Ephesians Prysock and Tacario Davis are assuming larger roles.

The 6-4 Prysock has been the Wildcats’ most consistent starter at cornerback this spring. Prysock and Davis were implemented into Arizona’s secondary in the second half of the season in the Wildcats’ “dollar package” that featured seven defensive backs.

“When you look at him, you’re like, ‘Wow, that’s a good-looking athlete,’ but at the end of the day you have to remember he’s a young kid and still a freshman,” Richardson said of Prysock.

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The Wildcats also added Charles Yates Jr. this offseason, a transfer from Los Angeles Pierce College who is originally from Mobile, Alabama. Yates has been among the top performers in the secondary this spring.

“He’s coming from the South and you know how they play down there,” Richardson said. “He’s coming in from a junior college and trying to earn his way through, but he’s very appreciative of the process. Getting meals, having nice equipment, those are the things junior-college guys appreciate.”

Like Yates, Richardson was a junior-college product and relates to his road-less-traveled journey to playing Division I football.

“When you’re coming out of high school and you’re one of the top players in high school and then you go to a junior college with a lot of other guys, it’s a humbling process because everyone wants to play at the highest level — it’s everyone’s dream and aspiration,” Richardson said. “But when you learn the process and gotta grind through it, it really teaches you a lot about yourself. That’s where I learned a lot about myself and to not fold during hard times.”

Richardson relishes those teaching moments. He’s learning too.

“I have to be dialed in and put in the extra time and effort to learn the playbook and ask the questions. I have to be humble enough as a coach (that) if I don’t understand something, then ask so I can be able to install that properly,” Richardson said. “It’s been a process for me, but I’m growing and I’m learning. I got great guys in the room that are willing to take the time to teach me. ... I treat this as my mission field.

“If God is going to ask me to impact young men, then I’m going to give my all to it.”

Cason, McAlister to serve as honorary DCs

For the first time ever, Arizona’s spring game will have honorary defensive coordinators — and they’re arguably the two best cornerbacks to play for the Wildcats.

Antoine Cason, a Jim Thorpe Award winner and the last first-round NFL draft pick the UA has produced, and Chris McAlister, a three-time All-Pac-10 selection and three-time Pro Bowler, will serve as honorary defensive coordinators for the spring game in two weeks, the program announced Friday.

Cason will team up with UA legend and former teammate Rob Gronkowski, while McAlister will coordinate the team coached by former Arizona fullback Chris Gronkowski in the Wildcats’ “Gronk Bowl” to wrap up spring practice.

After starring at Mt. SAC, McAlister was a standout cornerback for the Wildcats under Dick Tomey from 1996-98 and helped Arizona to its best season in program history, when the UA went 12-1 and knocked off Nebraska in the Holiday Bowl; his No. 11 jersey was retired during the 2010 season.

McAlister was a unanimous All-American in 1998, then was drafted 10th overall by the Baltimore Ravens. As a part of one of the best defenses in NFL history, McAlister contributed to a Ravens team that won the Super Bowl in 2000.

Cason was one of Mike Stoops’ first recruits and played for the Wildcats from 2004-07. Case was a two-time All-Pac-10 selection and All-American. He logged 183 tackles and 15 interceptions during his UA career.

The spring game at Arizona Stadium is scheduled for April 15 at 3:30 p.m. and will be televised by Pac-12 Networks.

Extra points

Defensive lineman Tia Savea, who missed the start of spring ball with an unspecified injury, returned to practice Thursday. Savea played alongside edge rusher Russell Davis II, Georgia transfer defensive tackle Bill Norton and Sterling Lane II in the second group of Arizona’s first team segment.

The Wildcats practiced blocking and returning punts. Receivers Jacob Cowing and Tetairoa McMillan, safety Isaiah Taylor and cornerback Jai-Ayviauynn Celestine, who also returned from injury, were among the punt returners.

Safety Jaydin Young entered the transfer portal. Young, a former Peoria Centennial High School star, joined the Wildcats as a walk-on and earned a scholarship leading up to the 2021 season. In three seasons, Young recorded 61 tackles.

Arizona added Northern Illinois to its nonconference schedule for the 2026 season, per FBSchedules.com. The Wildcats will reportedly face NIU for the first time ever at Arizona Stadium on Sept. 19, 2026. Arizona will open its season against NAU, then travel to play BYU in Provo before ending the nonconference slate against NIU.