NORFOLK, Va. – Two Norfolk State football players and former high school teammates received prestigious recognitions from Sports Illustrated on Monday afternoon, landing on the publication's 2023 Football Championship Subdivision (FCS) Freshman All-American Team.
 
Offensive lineman Samuel Eskridge was named to the FCS Football Central Freshman All-American Team on the offensive side of the ball, while linebacker AJ Richardson received the nod on defense. Both players are products of Kings Mountain, N.C., graduating from Kings Mountain High School before attending Norfolk State.
 
FCS Football Central, a branch website of Sports Illustrated's "FanNation" dedicated to FCS football coverage, unveiled its first Freshman All-America team last year. Eskridge and Richardson are the first Norfolk State players to receive the honor.
 
The team recognizes the best freshman players from across the FCS subdivision. 49 players from 43 programs are recognized on the Freshman All-America Team.
 
Richardson received All-MEAC Second Team honors last week, putting together a tremendous rookie campaign. He led the Spartans with 69.0 tackles, including 11.0 tackles for loss and two sacks. He was one of just two players in the conference to recover three fumbles.
 
Eskridge made an immediate impact on Norfolk State's offensive line, starting all 11 games for the Spartans. He totaled 45 pancakes and 23 knockdowns, allowing just two sacks the entire year.
 
Norfolk State accounted for two of the five MEAC players represented in the Freshman All-American team, the only school to receive more than one selection.
 
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