About 45 minutes into Monday morning’s practice at Wofford College, Panthers owner Jerry Richardson stopped practice and called the players together at midfield to talk to them. The talk lasted about 10 minutes. It was inaudible to anyone outside the large huddle, but there were a couple of collective bursts of laughter.
It’s unclear at this point what the message was and it’s pretty clear the Panthers really want to keep Richardson’s comments in-house.
However, when asked about the gist of Richardson’s message Muhsin Muhammad said, “He just thanked the players for supporting him during tough times (recovery from heart transplant surgery) and he talked about us getting ready for the season. It was good for him to come out and give us some encouraging words.”
“Some things are sacred but he had some things to say,” coach John Fox said. “I won’t go into detail about that, but it was very inspiring…. It’s always good to have Mr. Richardson out here. It’s always a boost for the players and coaches to see him out here.”
LB Jon Beason didn’t want to get into specifics about the talk but said it was great to see Richardson.
“Basically he was saying that he feels good and he’s happy just to be back and be able to come on down here and go forward,” said Jon Beason.
Beason said it’s the first time Richardson has addressed the team this year.
QB Jake Delhomme also didn’t want to get into details about the talk but said Richardson’s mere presence was inspiring.
“It means a lot because he’s very close to a lot of football players on this football team, extremely close,” Delhomme said. “I’ve always said it when an owner walks through the locker room in any other place, guys turn away or try to hide. Here, guys flock to him, and that’s the God’s honest truth.”
Richardson does appear to have lost significant weight since undergoing a heart transplant in February, but overall looks healthy.
–RB DeAngelo Williams, LBs Thomas Davis and Jon Beason, S Nate Salley and OL C.J. Davis did not practice.
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