Just about every Ivy League football program was swooning over Painter Richards-Baker ’21.
In the end, it was about finding the one which best suited the Christ School senior with a trusty set of hands and weighted 4.6 grade-point average. Painter gave Dartmouth College a verbal commitment on Monday.
Painter’s hometown is Hillsborough, N.C., and this is his second year as a Greenie. Despite being injured for a portion of the 2019 season, he made 19 receptions for 256 yards and two touchdowns. Painter was memorably on the receiving end of a 38-yard pass from Navy Shuler ’20 with 13.1 seconds left in the NCISAA Division I state semifinals – a catch which allowed Christ School to topple No. 1 seed Charlotte Country Day, 27-20.
Bucknell, Columbia, Cornell, Davidson, Georgetown, and Bryant were among the other colleges which offered Painter a scholarship or roster spot for 2021. He had also made on-campus visits to Harvard and Yale.
Painter becomes the fourth Greenie senior to make a college football commitment, joining Charlie Browder '21 (Central Florida), Ian Adams '21 (Citadel), and Lex Long '21 (Virginia).
Christ School’s season opener is Sept. 25 at home against Rabun Gap (Ga.). WMYA-TV will broadcast the 7 p.m. game locally and through its website.