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SOUTHERN STARS Wally Richardson and other recruits from ACC and SEC country have figured prominently in the Nittany Lions' success ames Franklin's revised recruiting philosophy that places more em- phasis on players from the South should reopen a productive pipeline that once gave Penn State some of its best players, including three first-team All- Americans. The Carolinas and Florida were prime territories in the 1980s and '90s but other future Nittany Lion stand- outs came from the Southeastern Con- ference strongholds of Alabama, Tennessee and Georgia. Wide receiver Bobby Engram of Cam- den, S.C., may be the most accomplished of all on the field after winning the first Biletnikoff Award as the outstanding re- ceiver in college football in 1994 and then going on to a 14-year NFL career. Defen- sive end Courtney Brown of Charleston, S.C., was a consensus All-American in 1999 and the NFL's No. 1 overall draft choice following that season. Defensive tackle Tim Johnson, a Walter Camp All- American from Sarasota, Fla., made one of the biggest clutch plays in Penn State history with a sack late in the 1987 Fiesta Bowl that helped win the national cham- pionship. Yet it is quarterback Wally Richardson of Sumter, S.C., who may epitomize what Penn State football is all about. Richard- son's football ability enabled him to lead the 1995-96 teams to a 20-5 record and two New Year's Day bowl victories. His intellect and drive earned him a presti- gious $18,000 postgraduate fellowship from the National Football Foundation and College Football Hall of Fame, some- thing only 17 other Nittany Lion football players have received since 1971. After his professional football career, he used that fellowship and additional funds from a National Association of Collegiate Ath- letic Directors scholarship to earn a mas- ter's degree in education, while working as a graduate assistant in the Morgan Support Center for Student-Athletes. Then he spent five years as an academic counselor to Penn State football players, giving back to his alma mater in a way few other Nittany Lion athletes have done. "My bachelor's degree was in adminis- tration of justice, and I had planned to be a lawyer," Richardson said. "My dad's oldest brother, Uncle Joe, was a lawyer in Richmond, and next to my father I really looked up to him and liked his lifestyle. I found out I didn't want to be a lawyer after getting released by the Atlanta Fal- cons in 2000. I got a job as a paralegal in a big law firm in downtown Atlanta. I was around a lot of lawyers and they didn't seem to be fulfilled with their profession. I knew then I didn't want to live the rest of my life like this. "I went back to Penn State [the next year] to utilize my postgraduate fellow- ship and figure out what I wanted to do. Don Farrell was close to retirement as di- rector of academic advisors for football. He asked if I would be interested in that field. I wanted to be close to sports but I didn't want to coach, and academic counseling provided me that opportu- nity." After serving as an assistant to Farrell's successor, Todd Kulka, Richardson found a new position in 2007 with more pay closer to his South Carolina family as the associate director of Georgia's athlete ac- ademic counseling service. Four years later, he became the associate director of academic counseling for football at North Carolina. "It was good for me to see something new and see the way other people did things, and I enjoyed it," Richardson said. "But I got burned out. I didn't mind working with kids who were underpre- pared. The problem I had were the kids who were underprepared and didn't want to work at it. When I was more concerned in how they were doing in school than they were, that became a problem. My patience wore out and I became frus- trated." His timing was perfect for a return to Penn State. "A few guys were having din- ner with Bill O'Brien, and my name came up in regards to the Letterman's Club," Richardson said. "I didn't know Fran Ganter was retiring, but they were mak- ing some changes from what Fran had done, splitting up his duties, and these guys said I would be a good fit. I became the director of the Letterman's Club in June of 2013." Looking high and low To fully appreciate Richardson's loyalty to his alma mater, one needs to trace the origins of Penn State's presence in the Carolinas. They involve a famous fly fish- erman, the Nittany Lions' need for a flanker in 1984 to succeed two-time All- American Kenny Jackson and an elite Pennsylvania high school quarterback named Ron Powlus who became a four- year starter at Notre Dame. John Bove was coaching the Nittany Lions' secondary in 1982, but like most assistants he had recruiting responsibil- ities. Ganter was the recruiting coordi- nator, as well as running backs coach. Although assistant coaches then and | J H I S T O R Y

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