Diamond pride: Lower Richland community excited for Richard Seymour Hall of Fame moment
A group chat involving five former Lower Richland High School standouts usually involves laughter, reliving old stories and telling jokes.
But on the night of Feb. 10, it turned into a celebration of sorts between the high school friends as one of their own, Richard Seymour, finally got the news that he was selected into the Pro Football Hall of Fame in his fifth year of being a finalist for the honor.
“He had his disappointment the past couple years, and he always said the right things,” said Jonathan Goodwin, Seymour’s Lower Richland teammate. “But deep down, we knew it meant a lot to him.”
Seymour, the former Lower Richland and University of Georgia great who played 12 seasons in the pros with the New England Patriots and Oakland Raiders, will be enshrined in the Pro Football Hall of Fame on Saturday along with Tony Boselli, Sam Mills, LeRoy Butler, Bryant Young, Cliff Branch, coach Dick Vermeil and longtime director of officiating Art McNally.
This is the second straight year a South Carolina native will be enshrined in the Hall of Fame. Whitmire’s Donnie Shell was inducted last season after a standout career with the Pittsburgh Steelers.
“It is a tremendous honor and it is the elite of the elite. I’m honored to stand alongside the greats of the game,” Seymour said in a video produced by the Pro Football Hall of Fame. “I know I am going into Canton, but it is so many people that have done so much for me. It is really for them.”
Several of those people will be with Seymour on Saturday in Canton, Ohio, for the ceremony, including members of their group text — Goodwin, Stan Aye and Joe Gaines. Goodwin played 13 years in the NFL and won a Super Bowl with the New Orleans Saints.
John Howell, the fifth member of the group, was planning to attend but tested positive for COVID this week.
“I hate I have to miss it,” Howell told The State from his Maryland home this week. “We have been trying to plan a boys trip together, but with the pandemic things kept getting pushed back. This was going to be our trip to bring us all together. There is nothing more special than this, and I am so happy for Richard. I am going to be tuned in to see how everything goes.”
Titus Duren will be Seymour’s presenter at the ceremony. The former Lower Richland principal had a big influence and special relationship with Seymour and his family growing up.
“He looks at me like a father figure. His father, who passed away (in 2004), and I were good friends. When he asked me to do this, I could not say no,” Duren said in a recent interview with the Pro Football Hall of Fame. “When I saw that big ol’ youngster, I knew he was something special. ... This was a ball player.”
Lower Richland and Georgia days
Howell remembers first meeting Seymour when the two were children. Their fathers were both in the construction business, and their friendship took off from there.
Both played baseball and basketball growing up. They didn’t play football until they arrived at Lower Richland High School. Like Goodwin, they were too big to play against the other kids in Pop Warner football growing up.
The three were each around 6-foot-1 or so entering high school, but Seymour hit a growth spurt before his sophomore year.
“He grew into a man-child. That’s when things started to separate,” Howell recalled.
The 6-foot-6 Seymour played both offensive and defensive line for coach David Moore and the Diamond Hornets. At times, Howell said Seymour wasn’t always the best practice player but knew he “would show up on Friday nights.”
As a senior in 1996, Seymour had 83 tackles and eight sacks and was selected to play in the Shrine Bowl all-star game. After the Shrine Bowl, Seymour’s recruiting really picked up and college coaches were regular visitors at Lower Richland.
Seymour signed with Georgia even though Duren at first hoped he would choose his alma mater, Clemson.
Seymour played 41 games for the Bulldogs, made 25 starts and became one of the best players in the SEC. He was a two-time all-SEC selection and was a first-team All-American as a senior in 2000.
Seymour finished with 233 tackles, 26 tackles-for-loss, and 10 sacks during his career at Georgia.
‘Changing the game’
The New England Patriots selected Seymour with the sixth overall pick in the 2001 NFL Draft, and he quickly found out the differences between college and pro football.
Seymour told The Atlanta Journal Constitution a story from his first meetings as a rookie when defensive coordinator Romeo Crennel gave players an assignment. Seymour ”blew it off.”
“The next day we came in and he asked me some questions about what was going on,” Seymour told the AJC. “From that moment forward, I kind of realized that, ‘OK, well, I think I’ve got to study.’ So, it was kind of funny. ... I was talented, but I had so much to learn in terms of how to really be a true pro.”
Seymour got the message and turned into one of the most dominant defensive linemen of his era. He was part of three Super Bowl championship teams as the Patriots established themselves as a dynasty.
Seymour will be the first draft pick by coach Bill Belichick to get elected into the Pro Football Hall. Belichick and Tom Brady were among those who sent letters on Seymour’s behalf to the Hall of Fame committee.
“Richard Seymour was unquestionably one of our key players, and I do not believe we would have won three championships without him,” Belichick said in the letter.
Seymour could play nose tackle in the 3-4 system or as a defensive end. He even played on special teams early in his career and lined up some at fullback in goal-line situations.
His numbers were as big as defensive linemen in his era of the NFL (498 tackles, 57.5 sacks), but his versatility was a defining trait.
“He was one of those who changed the game,” Goodwin said. “He changed the type of guy organizations started to draft — big guys that still can move. Big guys like Richard that can move are the most difficult to block.”
Seymour finished his career with the Raiders after being traded before the start of the 2009 season. He played four seasons with Oakland, and the Raiders made him highest-paid defensive player in the NFL at the time after signing a two-year, $30 million contract in 2011.
Retired from football, Seymour now lives in Georgia with his wife, Tanya, and four children — RJ, Kayla, Kennedy and London.
Seymour has given back to the Lower Richland community in a variety of ways over the years in charitable efforts. The school named its weight room after him.
“One of us had to make it growing up,” Howell said. “From seeing LR turn the weight room into Richard Seymour’s name, it is community-driven. And we are all proud. If Richard makes it (to the Hall of Fame), then everyone from Hopkins, to Eastover to Gadsden is a part of that.
“It is the culmination of all of his hard work. I am happy for my brother.”
How to Watch Pro Football Hall of Fame Ceremony
When: Saturday, noon
Where: Canton, Ohio
TV/streaming: ESPN and NFL Network
Pro Football Hall of Famers with SC ties
Harry Carson (McClenaghan High/SC State)
Brian Dawkins (Clemson)
Deacon Jones (SC State)
Art Shell (Bonds-Wilson High School in North Charleston)
Donnie Shell (Whitmire/SC State)
Richard Seymour (Lower Richland HS)
