Asim Richards

Early life

Richards was born on October 2, 2000, in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania. He attended Haverford School, where he played football and basketball.

On the football team, he spent most of his time as a defensive end and tight end. As a junior, he received second-team All-Inter-Ac honors at defensive end.

As a senior, he started the final four games at offensive tackle. He received All-Inter-Ac League honors and a Mini Max award, given by the Maxwell Football Club to the standout players in eastern Pennsylvania.

Richards finished his high school career with 133 tackles (31 for loss), 13 sacks, 3 forced fumbles and 3 fumble recoveries. He was ranked as a three-star prospect, the sixth-best recruit in the state and the 42nd-best tackle overall, he committed to play college football at North Carolina.

College career

As a true freshman in 2019, he appeared in 9 games, mostly in a backup role on the offensive line and on special teams.

As a sophomore in 2020, he was named the full starter at left tackle, starting in all but one of the 12 games of the season. He was part of an offensive line that included offensive guards Joshua Ezeudu and Marcus McKethan. He also blocked for future NFL players Sam Howell, Javonte Williams and Michael Carter.

As a junior in 2021, he started all 13 games at left tackle and blocked for future NFL running back Ty Chandler.

As a senior in 2022, he started all 14 games at left tackle and was named third-team all-conference after allowing only three sacks on close to 1,050 snaps. He blocked for quarterback Drake Maye, helping the offense place third in the Atlantic Coast Conference (ACC) in points per game, second in passing yards per game and total yards per game, and first in rushing. Although Richards had one year of eligibility remaining, he opted to enter the 2023 NFL draft. He finished with 38 career starts (37 at left tackle, one at left guard), including 34 consecutive. He was invited to the 2023 Senior Bowl.