Trent Richardson: Star RB's Traffic Tickets Raise Alarming Questions for Alabama

This may end up being nothing, but given what other big schools have done, or at least have been accused of doing, this is a red flag for the Alabama Crimson Tide.

SPORTSbyBROOKS reports here that Alabama running back Trent Richardson has been pulled over twice in the last year. No, that's not an especially big deal. But how did Richardson get his hands on two cars with a combined value of more than $60,000 dollars in that period of time?

Remember, Richardson may be well on his way to earning a lot of money, but he's not there yet.

First of all, I hope that this amounts to nothing. There are a lot of schools that I don't like, like Miami and USC. But even in those cases, I take no joy in seeing those schools struggle with penalties that came from past transgressions landing them in such undesirable situations.

I don't like the fact that there is technically no national champion from 2004, or no Heisman Trophy winner from 2005. Regardless of what you think about USC or Reggie Bush, that is not a good thing for college football.

Now, we need to apply the same guidelines here. Just like with Cam Newton and Auburn in 2010, let's hope that there is nothing to this.

What's pretty clear is that given the controversy around Alabama and Auburn in recent years, fans on either side of that rivalry are in no position to throw stones.

As for Richardson, I am hoping it's nothing. I doubt that it's nothing, but I also doubt that anything serious will be pinned on Alabama. Remember that this stuff needs to be proven with more than just speculation.

Even if something fishy appears to be true, that doesn't necessarily mean that there will be enough evidence for any governing body to act.

If it does nothing else, this provides further evidence that colleges need to take a closer look at who hangs around their athletes.

I am hoping that there is nothing to this. Truthfully, there is absolutely nothing conclusive about anything that was reported.

Still, you should keep paying attention here. Odds are good that we haven't seen or heard the last of this.