When Jake Richards sat down to conduct his first-ever interview, he exuded all the confidence of a young man that belied his tender years. At the age of just 16, the Exeter City youngster is beginning to establish himself in the Grecians first team – and looking like he belongs there too.

Before the start of the season, Richards hadn’t had a taste of men’s football, but after impressing in the pre-season win at Mousehole, he spent much of the summer training with the first team, having just sat his GCSE exams.

After catching manager Gary Caldwell’s eye, he was then handed his full Football League debut in a 2-1 home defeat to Leyton Orient back in August. Barring the odd EFL Trophy appearance, Richards largely went under the radar but, behind the scenes, he continued to train with the first team as the fast-tracking to regular first team football continued.

Now, with the Grecians safe from relegation, Richards is back in the fold and catching the eye once more. But whereas the Grecians management declined the opportunity to put other highly-rated graduates before the media in the past, such as Ethan Ampadu, Richards was afforded the opportunity recently and spoke eloquently about his time at Exeter and his first taste of League One football.

“It’s been really good,” Richards said, under the watchful eye of Under-18s coach Nicky Ajose, who sat in on the interview. “I’m getting quite a lot of exposure now to the first team. Obviously, I started in the last three games, which has been really good. It’s really good for me to get opportunities in the league, which is such a good standard.”

Richards joined Exeter’s Academy at under-12 level from Yeovil Town and his performances have not gone unnoticed by the fans, either. “It gives me a lot of confidence, but the only people I need to listen to is the manager and what he’s saying,” Richards added. “But yeah, it’s always good to hear that from the fans.

“Gary is a great manager and he’s given me a lot of opportunities and I’m really grateful for that. He’s improved me a lot as a player and so have the other first team staff, so I can’t really thank him enough. I have just got to keep working hard, keep fighting for a place in the team and hopefully more opportunities will come.”

Since returning to the first team fold as a substitute in the 1-0 win over Stevenage at St James Park, Richards – who turns 17 in August – is not just catching the eye, but making an impact as well. He was excellent in the 2-2 draw at Leyton Orient before injury forced him off at half-time, but he started again at Port Vale and assisted Millenic Alli’s first goal in the 4-2 win at Vale Park.

Saturday’s win at Northampton was a lot tougher, as the Grecians played the majority of the game with ten men, but he still played 65 minutes before being replaced by Reece Cole. He is almost certain to start Saturday’s final game of the season at a sold out St James Park against play-off chasing Oxford United.

“The step up has been quite significant in terms of the physicality, the speed of the game and stuff like that, but it’s been really good,” Richards said. “I made my debut against Leyton Orient and, coming back into the team at Orient, I kind of knew what it would be like, the pressure from the crowd and stuff like that.

“It was good to have that type of exposure, but every game is a bit different, so when I was playing earlier in the season, maybe I wasn’t as good on the ball, but I think I’ve developed so now that I’ve come to play the games in League One, I’m a lot better, feel more confident and my performance has been a lot better.”

Richards is the latest in a long line of youngsters to come through the Grecians’ academy, but if there is a comparison to be made, then it would likely be with Matt Grimes. Both are elegant, left-footed ball-playing central midfielders and, just like Grimes, his opportunity in the first team has had to be earned and not handed on a plate.

“The club survives on giving young players opportunities, so the gaffer is always going to try and give young players that want it an opportunity,” he said. “I’m just lucky enough that he’s chosen me and I’ve worked hard enough to get it at this part of the season. The difference between the 18s and the first team is quite big physically, so it all kind of took a bit of a toll on my body. But I’m alright now.”

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