JOURNAL SPORTS
Two products of local high schools were chosen Saturday on the final day of the NFL Draft, with Bossier’s Decamerion Richardson picked by the Los Angeles Raiders while Evangel product Myles Cole joined former Calvary coach Doug Pederson and the Jacksonville Jaguars.
Richardson (6-2, 188) is a Cullen native who played cornerback at Mississippi State and gave up his final year of eligibility to enter the draft. He clocked a 4.34 time in the 40-yard dash, third fastest by a corner at the NFL Combine in February, and has a 77 7/8 inch wingspan, large for a defensive back.
Cole (6-6, 278) has the largest wingspan of any player who was measured at the combine at 86 ¼ inches. A defensive lineman who moved out to the edge at Texas Tech, the Shreveport native passed on playing with the Red Raiders in the Radiance Technologies Independence Bowl in his hometown to focus on draft preparation.
Richardson played in 45 games with 26 starts at Mississippi State, recording 177 career tackles (106 solo), 10 pass breakups and a sack. In each of the last two seasons, he led all SEC cornerbacks in total tackles (85 in 2022, 79 last fall).
He also led all SEC corners and ranked third nationally with a top tackle grade of 90.3 according to Pro Football Focus.
Playing for coach Michael Concillio at Bossier, he was a three-star recruit and all-district first team at running back and cornerback as a senior. Richardson was a track star and was third in the state meet with 10.75 100 meter dash mark and also third in the 200 at 21.63, according to his Mississippi State bio. He had a best mark of 6-4 in the high jump.
Cole was one of Texas Tech’s best defenders last fall while starting 12 games and playing 570 snaps. He had 32 tackles (21 solo) including 6 ½ for lost yards and 3 ½ sacks, along with 3 quarterback hurries and a pass breakup.
Cole was honorable mention on the coaches’ All-Big 12 team, and played in both the East-West Shrine Bowl and the Reese’s Senior Bowl postseason all-star games. He ran a 4.67 40 at the combine.
Cole played his first three seasons at ULM, earning an undergraduate degree in kinesiology. He will join the Jacksonville squad coached by Pederson, whose first head coaching experience came at Calvary from 2005-08).
