Potential is the buzzword that surrounds Jamauri Richardson whenever American football college scouts run the rule over the Bermudian wide receiver.

At 6ft 4in and 205lbs, Richardson has a formidable frame with the scope to become even more imposing as he matures and builds muscle mass in the weights room.

A slew of excited college scouts have already expressed an interest in the St David’s Islander because of his speed, athleticism — but more so his potential.

Within the next two years, the 18-year-old, intends to turn that potential into something more tangible by winning a scholarship to a Division I university.

“I’ve got the height, I can catch good and I have good speed for my size — a lot of colleges look at that,” Richardson said. “Because I’m quite skinny they also feel I can add some weight to my frame.

“They see me and they see potential, that’s what they always tell me. They look at my size and see what I can bring to the table.”

Richardson hopes to use Santa Barbara City College, where he will attend in June, as a platform to demonstrate his considerable gifts and continue to catch of the eye of talent-spotters.

And while he considers it equally important to fulfil his potential in the classroom, he is keenly aware that the more yards he gains on the pitch the better chance he has of securing a scholarship.

“American football is a bit like basketball, which I grew up playing, but a lot more physical,” the former Mount St Agnes student said. “It’s a better way for me to express myself.

“I’ll be going to Santa Barbara in the summer. That’s when they want all of the players to start. It’s a junior college, but it’s good at pushing players out to the bigger universities.

“It’s like a temporary school and, hopefully, I will transfer from there to a big university. At the end of the day, all this has to result in me getting an education; that’s what I’m going for. At the moment, I’m just focusing on school and playing football.”

Richardson remains a relative novice when it comes to the finer points of the game.

He played for only two seasons at Massanutten Military Academy, in Virginia, where he was poached from the school’s basketball team because of his size and handling skills.

Last season he missed several games because an injury but still managed to earn an All-State honourable mention.

“I went away to school in the United States at the beginning of the ninth grade and started playing football out there,” said Richardson who runs the 40-yard dash in 4.5sec.

“I enjoyed it and stuck at it. Early on, I started to get some feedback from a lot of college coaches who said I had a lot of potential.

“It’s a lot of training and a lot of working out, but the benefits to that are worth it.”

With an admirable work ethic and desire for success, few would bet against Richardson winning that scholarship and, in turn, realising his much coveted potential.