Yahoo Sports: Early Exits: Trent Richardson, Dré Kirkpatrick and Don’ta Hightower, Alabama’s band of blue chips
Trent Richardson and Dré Kirkpatrick arrived at Alabama as five-star headliners in the most touted recruiting class of 2009, and it's safe to say they justified the billing: Three years later, they're on their way to the NFL along with linebacker Don'ta Hightower as All-Americans, national champions and soon-to-be millionaires, dreadlocked cornerstones of the latest addition to the Crimson Tide canon. The local equivalent of a stained-glass window is already in the works. Richardson, especially, is a physical absurdity whose production as a junior finally caught up to his Olympian countenance. Dude was always a freak: Even as a freshman, ...