Dreams drive individuals, providing them the motivation needed to achieve an important goal.

Missouri DT Sheldon Richardson’s dream was to play in the NFL. That has always been his one sole goal, and he will achieve that dream come April’s draft.

“That’s always been a dream of mine, ever since I was a little kid,” said Richardson, who loves football’s physicality and team focus. “I came and told everyone in my neighborhood, school, and family that I was going to play football when I grow up. ... I was one of those kids who put all his eggs in one basket.”

The 6-4, 295-pound Richardson is projected as a mid-first-round pick and arguably is the top defensive tackle available. The Mizzou product radiates immense confidence in his athletic abilities, something his family helped him develop while growing up in St. Louis.

His father, Michael, was a star football player for Sullivan High School (Mo.), and his older brothers, Shaun and Sherron, are also talented athletes. Richardson would eagerly play street ball every day against his brothers and their friends when he was 8 and they were 5-7 years older.

“I would surprise them,” Richardson laughed. “It might not be every play, of course they were bigger than me, so they would try to pick on me a bit. But I would be the little brother/little kid on the street that would always surprise the older kids and they were like, ‘Boy, you could play with us.’”

His parents enrolled him in Pop Warner, and he continued to impress by being the team captain, even though he was two years younger than everyone else.

After dominating in high school by excelling at multiple positions, Richardson’s grades weren’t good enough to enter Missouri, so he played for the College of the Sequoias in Visalia, Calif. for two years while briefly switching his commitment to USC.