39 days until kickoff, and Damien Richardson is still renowned for his genius

Yesterday we took a look at a veritable Sun Devil legend in two-time Hall of Famer Mike Haynes. Today, with 39 days left until Sun Devil football returns, we turn the page to perhaps the smartest Sun Devil to ever grace the gridiron. Known as The Professor, today we spotlight Damien Richardson.

A southern California native, Richardson committed to Arizona State for reasons other than football. Head coach Bruce Snyder envisioned the safety becoming a key enforcer on the back end of his defense, but Richardson was interested in something else, too: academics.

Specifically, Richardson was intrigued by the intersection of technology and engineering. Coming at a time in the early 1990's when technological innovations were booming, Richardson was set on finding a school that would support his lofty academic ambitions on top of putting him out on the football field every Saturday.

Apparently, his passion for the classroom deterred many schools that had been recruiting him. Richardson explains:

"A lot of institutions and athletic programs that were recruiting me weren't very enthusiastic about the fact that I was serious about pursuing my academics as an engineer. I think they thought it might have taken away from my time on the field and my dedication to the team."

Snyder and Arizona State, though, embraced Richardson's desire to major in engineering. On Richardson's visit to the campus, he spent just as much time talking with professors as he did with coaches, a bit of a rarity in college football by that time. But it convinced Richardson that Arizona State was the place to be.

Once he arrived on campus, Richardson quickly became known for his supreme intelligence, both in the classroom and on the football field, earning the nickname "The Professor." After a year in Tempe, Richardson would change his major to bioengineering with a focus on pursuing a medical career.

Things became complicated when Richardson rose to a starting role on the Sun Devil defense to start the 1995 season. It wasn't complicated on the field, though, as Richardson dominated almost immediately. He became exactly what Snyder had envisioned several years ago - an enforcer with the football IQ to know where the quarterback was going before anyone else - and never missed a start once he was elevated to the role.

Richardson remained dominant in the classroom, too. He was twice named an Academic All-American and won the Woody Hayes National Scholar-Athlete award. And in his final season as a Sun Devil, Richardson - who spent the year as a team captain - was named to the All-Pac 10 team.

Upon graduation, Richardson had planned to just go straight into medical school, continuing his education. But then he got drafted in the sixth round by the Carolina Panthers, and The Professor put those plans on hold.

Richardson managed to make the cut as a rookie, finding his way onto the final roster. Towards the end of the year, he was pushed into a starting role due to injuries ahead of him on the depth chart. His gutsy play as a rookie earned him a key role as a reserve safety and core special teamer, and Richardson would play for the Panthers for seven seasons.

In between, he kept his passion for a medical career alive. During the offseason, Richardson would volunteer at local hospitals and shadowed Panthers team doctors in their own work, continuing to learn even though he wasn't in a classroom.

Richardson's draw to the medical world featured a harsh crossover with his football life, as injuries to both his neck and knee prompted the decision to retire after the 2004 season. It wasn't the end of the world, though, as Richardson had been planning for this exact moment for some time.

He attended medical school at UC San Francisco and later got a Master's Degree from Harvard. He now works as an orthopedic physician with Banner Health in Phoenix, Arizona.

It's often easy to get wrapped in the athlete portion of the term "student-athlete," but Richardson provided a sterling example of doing both at elite levels. He made a difference for both Sun Devil football and the Panthers franchise, and now he's changing lives in the medical world as well.

He's an Arizona State legend that is rightfully held up as an example for all student-athletes who arrive in Tempe.