Raiders’ Jalen Richard Returns to Southern Miss for Graduation

One month after being re-signed to the Oakland Raiders, running back Jalen Richard returned to his alma mater to officially participate in its graduation ceremony.

On May 10, the NFL player walked across the stage at the commencement of the University of Southern Miss. He played for the school’s team, the Golden Eagles, while he attended the college from 2012-2015.

“Congratulations to all of our graduates this week, but a special congrats to @RocketRich30 for coming back to walk across the stage!” The collegiate football team wrote on Twitter.

Richard finished his college career in 2016 with a degree in exercise science, however, because he was working to land with an NFL team he was not present to walk with his class.

“For the university to let me come back and do this, I’m very grateful,” the Raiders’ player told KALB of the achievement. “Neither of my parents got a college degree or walked across the stage so I wanted to go back and experience that.”