Marian Catholic High School is approximately 254 miles from James Madison University in Harrisonburg, Virginia. That's where you can now find former Colt Dominick Richards, almost five years after he swapped in his blue and gold jersey for a purple and gold one.

While the Colts are currently fighting for a District 11 A playoff spot, Richards can be found on Saturday afternoons wearing No. 75 for the Dukes, anchoring their offensive line and calling the shots at the center position. He's part of a team that's undefeated at 7-0 and that's ranked No. 4 in the country in the Division 1 Football Championship Subdivision. The Dukes are also atop the Colonial Athletic Association standings with a 5-0 record.The distance from Hometown, Pennsylvania to Harrisonburg, Virginia is important - not so much because of the mileage or the four hour drive time - but because of the journey it has taken Richards on.Richards was recruited to play tight end for the Dukes back in 2011. During his career, the 6-5 redshirt senior has gone through several position changes and a body frame makeover - and like any good story there were ups and downs along the way.In 2011, Richards headed to JMU to play tight end. He red-shirted his first season to get stronger and add weight to his 6-5 frame. The following season, Richards started to see action on special teams, playing in all 10 games.2013 is where he would start to see time at the tight end position, playing in all 12 games for the Dukes, even catching a touchdown at Akron.In 2014, things got interesting for Richards once again as a new coaching regime took over the Dukes program. Everett Withers became the new head man after the 2013 season. Withers came into Harrisonburg with an impressive resume, highlighted by a successful stint as Urban Meyer's assistant head coach at Ohio State.After some reshuffling of the roster, Richards was then moved to the offensive line because of his strength and athleticism with the Dukes new scheme requiring a group of agile offensive linemen. He added weight to be able to get some extra push up front, putting on around 50-plus pounds of muscle. Richards once again played in all of the Dukes games and was part of an offense that led the CAA with 497 yards of total offense per game. JMU also broke school records for passing yards and total offense during the 2014 season.A position change isn't always easy to accept, especially to a position like the offensive line, which is historically a position that doesn't receive a whole lot of notoriety. Richards however, doesn't look at it that way at all."It's definitely been a wild ride, but to experience all of this has truly been humbling," said Richards. "It didn't matter to me where I played, I just wanted to be out there as much as possible. "When Coach Withers and his staff came here they reevaluated our roster. They knew I understood the offense and they knew I was willing to put the work in, so they moved me to the offensive line. I was just excited to get the opportunity."To say Richards has made the best of his opportunity would certainly be an understatement.He is now the starting center on a serious contender for the FCS Championship. The Dukes have been downright dominant this season, averaging over 600 yards of total offense and 49 points per game.JMU offensive line coach Jamal Powell knew he had a special individual in Richards as soon as he moved to the line a season ago."Right away you could see that Dom was a hard worker and a very intelligent football player," said Powell. "Because he's so athletic we actually moved him from guard to left tackle in the spring, but then because of his knowledge of the game it was a no-brainer to move him to center."He's not only one of the leaders of the offensive line, but he's one of our leaders for the entire team."At the center position, intelligence is just as important as physical attributes. Richards has obviously showcased that trait on the field, but what's even more impressive is the accolades he's acquired in the classroom. He graduated last May on time with a Bachelors Degree and a 3.4 GPA in Health Science in the Pre-Physician Assistant Program. Richards was also named to the CAA All-Academic team in 2014 and has been named a JMU Scholar Athlete the past three seasons.Every great story needs to have a climax and this weekend offers the start of that for Richards and the Dukes.ESPN Game Day will be planting its flag in Harrisonburg this weekend for JMU's match-up with CAA foe and No. 11 ranked Richmond. Game Day very rarely takes its show to Division 1 FCS venues, but apparently the accomplishments of Richards and his teammates have garnered big time national attention."This week has been pretty intense already, the media attention is already crazy," said Richards. "We will be sure to enjoy every moment of this experience, but we're still a very focused football team. We have a very tough opponent in Richmond ahead of us on Saturday, so even with all of the other stuff going on, that's our main focus."It would be safe to say that Richards has been on quite the roller coaster ride since he left the comfy confines of Marian Catholic in 2011. Not many individuals possess the determination, discipline, and positivity that Richards has needed to be able to thrive in the sport of college football. Four position changes and a coaching change would be a lot for anyone to handle, but Richards never complained and never wavered, and now he's playing in a Division 1 college football game highlighted by ESPN College Game Day this weekend.It's a story and a journey that would make anyone proud."To be honest, I don't think I would have been able to handle all these transitions if it wasn't for playing coal region football," said Richards. "It made me physically tough, it made me mentally tough and it taught me to appreciate the game of football."That, paired with my family's support, have helped make me the football player and the man I am today, and I will forever be grateful for that."