Trent Richardson Trenton Jamond Richardson ( born July 10 , 1990 ) is an American football running back for the Indianapolis Colts of the National Football League ( NFL ) . He played college football for the University of Alabama , was recognized as an All - American , and was a member of two BCS National Championship teams . The Cleveland Browns selected him with the third overall pick of the 2012 NFL Draft , and he was rated as the best running back prospect since Adrian Peterson . On September 18 , 2013 , he was traded to the Indianapolis Colts in exchange for Indianapolis ' 2014 1st round pick . With the addition of Richardson , the Colts now have two of the top three picks of the 2012 NFL Draft , including QB Andrew Luck who was selected first overall . Early years . Richardson was born in Pensacola , Florida . He attended Escambia High School in Pensacola , the same high school as former Cleveland Browns teammate Ahtyba Rubin , where he finished his senior season with 2 , 100 yards on 228 carries scoring 25 touchdowns . In a game against Milton High School in September 2008 , Richardson rushed for 419 yards on 29 carries and scored six touchdowns , a performance that earned him a selection as the first " ESPN RISE " National Football Player of the Week . As a junior , Richardson also reached the 400 - yard plateau , as he ran for 407 yards in his opening game against Tate High School . He finished his junior season ( 8 games ) with 1 , 390 yards and 13 touchdowns , and received FSWA All - State 5A second team honors . He sat out his second year due to an injury . He made the FSWA 5A All - State First Team as a senior , and was named 5A Florida Player of the Year and a finalist for the 2008 Mr . Football . Richardson also received consensus All - American honors and was named to the " Orlando Sentinel " ' s All Southern Team ( Florida ) . Richardson was frequently compared to Emmit Smith , who also starred at Escambia ( 1987 graduate ) , but his physique and running style are more similar to Earl Campbell . Richardson also drew comparisons to Michael Turner and O . J . Simpson . Considered a five - star recruit by " Rivals . com " , Richardson was listed as the No . 2 running back prospect in the nation ( behind only Bryce Brown ) . He chose Alabama over Florida , Florida State , and LSU , among others . College career . Richardson accepted an athletic scholarship to attend the University of Alabama , where he played for coach Nick Saban ' s Alabama Crimson Tide football team from 2009 to 2011 . 2009 . In his first year at Alabama , Richardson stepped in quickly for the departed Glen Coffee , and shared time at the tailback position with Roy Upchurch and Mark Ingram , Jr . When recruited , Crimson Tide coach Nick Saban called Richardson , " the real key to the class , " and " an outstanding player at a position that a young player can contribute next year . " Richardson was named SEC Freshman of the Week for Week 2 and Week 4 . Richardson was also named to the 2009 SEC All - Freshman team alongside Barrett Jones and Nico Johnson . He also contributed significantly in the 2010 BCS National Championship with 109 yards rushing and 2 touchdowns . For the season he had 145 carries for 751 yards rushing and 8 touchdowns . He also had 126 yards receiving on the season . 2010 . Richardson started the first two games of the season with Mark Ingram sitting out due to an injury . In the season opener , he had 10 carries for 66 yards and 2 touchdowns . He also had 3 receptions for 46 yards . The following week against Penn State , he ran for a career - high 144 yards on 22 carries and a touchdown . He also had 4 catches for 46 yards . Trent was named Co - SEC Offensive Player of the Week for his efforts . For the season he had 112 carries for 700 yards rushing and 6 touchdowns and 266 yards receiving and 4 touchdowns . Richardson also had 634 kick return yards with a touchdown on the year . 2011 . With the departure of Mark Ingram to the NFL , Richardson took over the starting role at running back . During the season Richardson ran for over 100 yards in nine games . He tied Shaun Alexander with six consecutive 100 - yard rushing games . He scored two or more touchdowns in seven games . He set a career high against Ole Miss running for 183 yards and four touchdowns . In the Iron Bowl , Richardson ran for a new career high of 203 yards . He won the Doak Walker Award becoming the first player from Alabama to win . He finished third in the Heisman Trophy voting behind eventual winner Robert Griffin III and Andrew Luck . In the 2012 BCS National Championship Game , Richardson rushed for 96 yards and a touchdown to secure his second national championship with the Crimson Tide . For the season Richardson had 1 , 679 rushing yards , breaking Mark Ingram ' s record for most rushing yards in a season , and 21 rushing touchdowns . His 21 rushing touchdowns was also an SEC running back record . He also had 338 receiving yards with three touchdowns , making his season total touchdowns 24 which tied Shaun Alexander ' s SEC record . On January 12 , 2012 , Richardson declared for the 2012 NFL Draft , thus forgoing his final year of collegiate eligibility . At the time of his announcement , he was projected as a first round pick and the top running back prospect in the draft . Professional career . 2012 NFL Draft . Entering his junior season , Richardson was widely regarded as the best running back available in the 2012 NFL Draft , and he cemented his reputation with strong play over the course of the year . . After undergoing a minor knee surgery in February 2012 , Richardson did not participate in drills at the 2012 NFL Combine . He later also decided to skip workouts at the Alabama Pro Day on March 7 . Richardson held his own Pro Day on March 27 . By March 2012 , Richardson was widely projected to be a top six draft choice , with the Cleveland Browns , Tampa Bay Buccaneers , and St . Louis Rams rumored to be most interested in selecting him . Former Colts vice chairman Bill Polian called him one of the " three sure - thing players " in the 2012 draft . Richardson was eventually selected third overall by the Cleveland Browns , after they had traded picks with the Minnesota Vikings to select him ahead of the Tampa Bay Buccaneers . Richardson was the highest selected running back since Reggie Bush went second overall in 2006 . The Browns had not selected a running back in the first round since William Green in 2002 . On July 23 , Richardson and the Cleveland Browns agreed to a four - year , $ 20 . 4 million contract ( fully guaranteed ) with a $ 13 . 6 million signing bonus . Cleveland Browns . 2012 . On August 9 , 2012 , Richardson underwent arthroscopic surgery to remove some cartilage fragments in his left knee . Richardson missed the entire preseason , but returned for the season opener . In his debut against the Philadelphia Eagles , he rushed for 39 yards on 19 carries , being limited in his touches after having just come off the disabled list . The following week , in a 24 - 34 loss against the Cincinnati Bengals , he rushed for 109 yards and a touchdown on 19 carries . He also had 4 receptions for 36 yards and a receiving touchdown . He was the first Browns rookie to rush for over 100 yards and score rushing and receiving touchdowns all in the same game . During Week 13 against the Kansas City Chiefs , Richardson rushed for 42 yards and 2 touchdowns , tying Jim Brown ' s franchise rookie record of 9 touchdowns . Richardson would only play 2 games for the Browns in 2013 . He rushed 105 yards on 31 carries . Indianapolis Colts . 2013 . On September 18 , 2013 , Richardson was traded to the Indianapolis Colts for a 2014 first - round draft pick . He wears the uniform number 34 for the Indianapolis Colts after wearing number 33 for the Browns . The Colts were looking for a running back after a season - ending injury to Vick Ballard . In his first carry as a Colt , Richardson scored a touchdown against the San Francisco 49ers . He struggled through most of the season and was demoted to RB2 in favor of Donald Brown on December 1 , 2013 . Richardson returned to his RB1 role in the Colts week 15 match against the Houston Texans when Brown left due to injury , and recorded his first touchdown since week 4 against Jacksonville . Richardson fumbled on his first career playoff carry against the Kansas City Chiefs in the Colts ' Wild Card game . Kansas City converted the turnover into a touchdown . Personal life . Richardson has two daughters : Taliyah , 6 , and Elevera , 4 . Richardson ' s first son was born October 5 , 2012 . On April 13 , 2012 , he took leukemia survivor Courtney Alvis to her senior prom at Hueytown High School . Recognition . He was voted No . 71 out of the top 100 in the NFL by fellow players in 2013 .