Sixth season for Richardson?

MIAMI -- Seemed like a reachable goal, one a healthy young man should be able to accomplish.

Dace Richardson wanted to walk out onto the Kinnick Stadium field with his senior class. Reasonable goal. He's a 6-foot-6, 305-pound offensive lineman who earned all-Big Ten for the Iowa Hawkeyes this season. Walking out and meeting his parents for senior day is a reachable goal.

No, it's not a reachable goal, it should be assumed. But then, we are talking Dace Richardson.

Richardson rolled out in a golf cart when Iowa hosted Minnesota on Nov. 21. He suffered a broken ankle at Michigan State on Oct. 24 and missed the rest of the season.

"That definitely hurt that day, coming out in a golf cart," Richardson said Saturday. "I really wanted to come out running."

Richardson has other goals he'd like to accomplish. He'd like to win a Big Ten title. He'd also like to play in a Rose Bowl. Of course, he'd love to be able to run out and greet mom and dad (Dace Richardson and Kim Small). Considering his injury history -- missed all but one game in '07 and all of '08 while undergoing knee realignment surgery and then the broken ankle -- that'd be a feat in itself.

"I've talked to coach (Kirk) Ferentz and we both feel we're going to have a good team next year," Richardson said. "I feel that some of the goals I had for this season I didn't accomplish. Those are the things that will really get me to come back, coming back to accomplish those goals I set for myself."

So, there's incentive for Richardson to petition the NCAA for a medical hardship waiver and come back for a sixth year of eligibility. There's also a million or so reasons to explore the NFL option, which is very viable for Richardson, whose dad was a free-agent running back for the New York Giants out of Western Illinois. Tim Richardson, Dace's uncle, was drafted as a running back by the Giants in 1987.

Richardson is keeping all of his options open.

He's considering filing paperwork for the sixth year, which isn't a slam dunk, though Richardson has a great case. Generally, a hardship waiver requires two seasons of inactivity due to injury. Richardson played one game between the 2007 and '08 seasons. He's enrolled in spring semester, even though he graduated last May.

He's also filed his paperwork for the NFL draft, an option that he's strongly considering, with injury being the biggest factor.

"I have to be smart about it, too," he said. "I have an opportunity to play at the next level. Even though I was hurt, people are still interested. I have to weigh that factor in, too.

"I always think of Sam Bradford (the Oklahoma quarterback who won the Heisman in '08, passed on the NFL and then suffered a season-ending shoulder injury in '09). He came back for another year and he got hurt. That's one of the possibilities. Do I want to risk getting hurt and losing out on that opportunity? I've got to weigh all those things in."

Ferentz has talked with Richardson about the sixth season. Of course, Ferentz wants him back, but he's also said, "It's easy for me to be tough with someone else's body."

Another possible factor in a decision is the timing of when Richardson would learn about a sixth year. It's a bit of a gamble. The NFL draft is in April. He won't find out from the NCAA for sure about a sixth year until May, a fact that rankles Ferentz.

"They (the NCAA) don't do it until May. Don't ask me why," said Ferentz, who dipped heavily into sarcasm. "It makes absolutely no sense, for the record. You think a guy would get a chance to know what he'd be doing in his future planning, but we have to wait until the end of the academic year to apply. I know there's a great reason for that."

Iowa's offensive staff wants Richardson back. Only guard Julian Vandervelde would have more career starts.

"I'll hear little jokes hear and there," Richardson said. "Some coaches say, 'You see that nice car? You stay here one more year, you'll definitely get that in the draft.' They've all been supportive and they all want me back. That's a good feeling to have."

Some of Richardson's family is on the other side of the NFL issue.

"My uncles and aunts want me to go to the NFL," Richardson said. "My dad has been to the NFL. He knows how it is. He knows it's a business. He knows it's a business and it's different than college. He's been telling me that.

"He's said, do you want to have one more year of enjoying it, having fun with your teammates? Or do you want to go out there and be in a business and make money. He knows the ins and outs. He's been giving me the pros and cons of the decision and I can really lean on him because he's been through it in the past and has helped me out. It's good to have."

During Saturday's news conference, Iowa quarterback Ricky Stanzi sat on the opposite side of the room from Richardson and offensive tackle Bryan Bulaga, a true junior who's also wrestling with the NFL decision.

Stanzi could go from an O-line that includes all-American Bulaga and all-Big Ten Richardson to some relative unknowns. Right now on the depth chart, Kyle Haganman and Markus Zusevics would be potential candidates for replacements.

It'd make sense if Stanzi, who obviously sees the depth chart on the wall, lobbied for staying. But he also knows that it's a personal issue, one that comes with the company line, "deal with after the bowl game."

"I know they have choices to make, that's up to them," Stanzi said. "They've done a good job keeping everything in persepective. I haven't lobbied at all. It's not my my spot to comment. They've got enough people firing opinions at them, they don't need to hear it from someone who's not even in their position."

It sounded as though Richardson was leaning toward a return, but it's impossible to gauge. There are no tells here. He's been in Iowa City for awhile, even earning rent money as a waiter at Boston's in Iowa City. Maybe that's good as far as comfort level goes. Maybe that's bad, as in time to hit the road, make money and live your life.

It was the knee injury and subsequent realignment that sent Richardson on this winding road through training rooms and grueling rehab. How has the knee held up?

"The knee's been good," he said. "I haven't even thought about the knee since the ankle. The knee has been good. I've felt like a new person. I felt like when I came here my freshman year."

That was 2005, a long time ago in football player years. That's a long time in the life of a 20-something.