J.R. Richardson averaged 21.3 yards on 26 kickoff returns as a freshman, including a season-long 54-yarder against Houston (photo by Travis Johnston).

Players getting ready for an upcoming season go through a lot. There are countless hours spent running and lifting weights. There’s film to be watched, and playbooks to study … and that doesn’t even include that “other” kind of studying that student-athletes do.

All things considered, that list seems pretty easy compared to what SMU cornerback J.R. Richardson has dealt with while gearing up for the Mustangs’ 2014 season.

In April, Richardson was one of about a dozen geology students who took a trip to the Grand Canyon, stopping for a few hikes throughout New Mexico. As the altitude went up, Richardson started cramping, dealing with back pain. When they reached their destination, the class embarked on a hike into the Grand Canyon — 13 miles each way. But Richardson’s symptoms worsened, and he told one of the teachers that he thought he needed to get to a hospital.

The main reason for his concern: Richardson has sickle cell trait (SCT), a genetic condition that can lead to sickle cell disease (SCD). Richardson does not have SCD, but SCT has its share of complications, including decreased oxygen getting into red blood cells and dehydration. Risks can increase when people who have it experience sudden changes in altitude or atmospheric pressure. (Source: www.cdc.gov)

“I knew it could get worse because I have sickle cell (trait),” Richardson said. “I was in the back seat of the van on the way to the hospital, going in and out of consciousness. I don’t remember this, but (classmates) said my eyes rolled back in my head, and said I was foaming a little at the mouth. Next thing I know, I woke up in a hospital with a bunch of IVs in my arm.

Richardson is able to laugh about the scene now, but admitted that, at the time, it was extremely frightening.

“I had pain, almost like cramps. I had them in my arms, my chest. It scared the hell out of me. I thought I was having a heart attack.”

Further complicating Richardson’s trip to the Canyon was a bout with rhabdomyolysis, which “results from a breakdown of muscle fibers and release of their contents into the bloodstream. This can lead to complications such as kidney (renal) failure.” (Source: webmd.com)

“It’s kind of like your muscles eating themselves,” Richardson said … again, laughing.

In anticipation of the hiking he expected to do with his class, Richardson said he bulked up to 190 pounds. After a few days in the hospital, he had lost 16 pounds from a frame that had no extra weight to lose (Richardson said he has just six percent body fat).

The rhabdomyolysis was managed through a regimen of mostly hydration and rest. But while his teammates were running and lifting and going through seven-on-seven workouts, Richardson was at home, inactive and frustrated.

“I had a stint of about three months where I couldn’t run, I couldn’t lift,” he said. “It drove me nuts. I tore my ACL (anterior cruciate ligament, in 2012), so it wasn’t the first time I couldn’t practice, but I hate it. But I’m from a God-fearing family, and I prayed a lot to keep my spirits up.”

Richardson and his doctors discussed his options for his athletic future. There was a chance he could return, but it was not known when. Another possibility was that his athletic career was over.

“I don’t like to talk about not playing football,” he said. “The doctor told me there were many options, from ‘back for the Baylor game’ to (being out for) ‘six months to a the full season’ to ‘you might never play again.’”

Richardson stuck to his rehabilitation routine, eventually earning to resume working out on a limited, monitored basis.

“When they told me I could work out again, I worked my ass off,” he said. “I started lifting three times a day — not some crazy, grueling workouts, because I couldn’t do that much, but I’d lift for a few minutes and then go watch film. I couldn’t practice all the time, so I’d do a little and then come back in, to cool off and drink water and rest.

“(Doctors) said they had to get me used to working out in the heat again, so that’s what we’re doing now. I’ll practice for about 30 minutes, and then I come back in. If everything is OK, I go back out and do it again.”

J.R. Richardson said he hopes to regain a starting cornerback position once he is cleared to return to playing (photo by SMU athletics).

The program Richardson received from the doctors and SMU’s training staff is working, he said.

“I feel good, but at the same time, I know I’m not really all the way back yet,” he said. “I’m not cramping, I am not having headaches, but I have to keep getting stronger and not have any setbacks.

“The plan — I’m planning to be ready for Baylor. If I keep doing good, with no cramping or anything, I want to play, maybe 30 or 35 plays … whatever they tell me.”

Richardson realizes the severity of his situation, but insists he feels no fear about getting back on the field.

“No — why would I?” he asked. “I got sick, but I feel good. I cried, and I prayed, but then I got better. I’m a confident kid. I can’t keep myself down.

Confidence seems to be a common trait among defensive backs, who by definition have to believe they can stop opposing offensive players at any time. Similarly, they have to be able to forget plays that go in the offense’s favor, and maintain the confidence that they will come through the next time the ball goes in their directions.

Richardson is no exception, having brimmed with confidence since the day he arrived at SMU in 2011. But while he still has ample belief in his ability, he remains well aware that he is not a finished product as a player.

“I’m a student of the game, and I know I still have a lot to learn,” he said. “I have a lot to improve on. But I pay attention, and I work hard. If I mess something up in practice, I learn it, and don’t do it again.”

Richardson said he has complete faith in the program put together by SMU’s doctors and training staff, and knows they are monitoring his exertion levels and closely monitoring everything from his time spent in the sun to how much rest he gets and how much water he takes in. Nonetheless, he said that he realizes that having SCT means nothing is 100 percent certain, that there’s a chance he could have another episode like the one he had in Arizona.

“I can’t say I won’t black … out,” he said. “I don’t think I will, because I feel great and the doctors say I’m doing great, but I don’t know for sure. But I know that I have been playing football since I was four years old, and I love it. I don’t want to give it up and be miserable.”

Like any parent, Richardson’s mother has expressed concerns about her son’s well-being on the field. When he tore his ACL two years ago, she told him that “maybe football isn’t for you.” She has made regular trips from her home in Baton Rouge, La., to Dallas to watch her son play, and he knows she has been nervous that he could get hurt against bigger opponents. He said he does not expect his mother’s concern to subside at all this year, but “she knows how much I love football. She knows how bad I want to play.”

Getting back on the field, even for practice, has been a welcome change for Richardson. “Just to have a helmet and shoulder pads on has felt great,” he said. “Any contact, putting my hands on a receiver … it felt a little foreign at first, but it feels right to be out there. I feel great.”

J.R. Richardson missed the entire 2012 season after tearing his left ACL (photo by SMU athletics).

Richardson said that when he battled back from his knee injury a couple of years ago, he developed a new level of appreciation for the sport he loves. Dealing with rhabdomyolysis and SCT has only added to that appreciation.

“When I tore my ACL, No. 1, that made me appreciate football more, because I got to see what it’s like to not play — and I didn’t like it,” he said. “No. 2, it made me appreciate my education more. I love football, but you have to get your education.”

His passion for football might suggest otherwise, but Richardson is not one of those athletes whose sole objective in college is to play a sport and then move on. Instead, he said he expects to graduate in December — in just 3.5 years — with a major in geology and a minor in business … an accomplishment that will not go unnoticed back home. In addition, he expects to stick around for the 2015 season while working on his Master’s degree.

“I could end up being the best player in the NFL,” he said, “but graduating, and graduating early, is what my mom will always be most proud of.”

Richardson said his mother will continue to drive the seven hours from Baton Rouge to Dallas to see him play, and she will continue to get nervous about his well-being. At first, it was merely the fear that her son could get hurt against bigger opponents. This summer’s medical adventures, he said, will do nothing to alleviate her concerns.

“She always gets nervous when I play,” he said. “We both know that on any given day, anyone can get hurt.”

But before she can lose sleep over how her son will survive in a specific game, he has to get approved to play. His progress has been steady and consistent, but he has not yet received official clearance to take part in games. He is following the routine laid out for him by the medical and training staffs. Fellow cornerback Horace Richardson (no relationship, although J.R. describes their close relationship by saying “we’re like brothers”) keeps an eye out for his friend, constantly urging J.R. to drink water between drills at practice. Secondary coach Derrick Odum and defensive coordinator constantly ask about his fatigue level, urging him to sit out occasional drills.

Anything to get back on the field.

“Like I said, it drove me nuts to sit out when I tore my ACL,” he said. “I know this isn’t an ACL or a sprained ankle. This is serious. But they take great care of me here. The stuff they have had me do is working. I feel better than I ever have.

“Now I just want to play.”