Reuben James Houston (born October 30, 1982) better known by his stage name Rico Richie is an American rapper and former

cornerback A cornerback (CB) is a member of the defensive backfield or secondary in gridiron football. Cornerbacks cover receivers most of the time, but also blitz and defend against such offensive running plays as sweeps and reverses. They create tur ...

for the

Georgia Tech The Georgia Institute of Technology, commonly referred to as Georgia Tech or, in the state of Georgia, as Tech or The Institute, is a public research university and institute of technology in Atlanta, Georgia. Established in 1885, it is part of ...

Yellow Jackets football team from 2002 to 2005.

Football career

Houston had 158 career tackles, 16 pass breakups, 12 tackles for loss, five forced fumbles and three fumble recoveries. He is also a former all-ACC triple jumper for Georgia Tech's track team. Houston graduated on December 17, 2005 with a degree in

management Management (or managing) is the administration of an organization, whether it is a business, a nonprofit organization, or a government body. It is the art and science of managing resources of the business. Management includes the activities o ...

. He was signed as a free agent on a tryout contract by the

Tampa Bay Buccaneers The Tampa Bay Buccaneers are a professional American football team based in Tampa, Florida. The Buccaneers compete in the National Football League (NFL) as a member club of the league's National Football Conference (NFC) NFC South, South divisio ...

on May 8, 2006, but was released on August 6, 2006.

Legal Troubles

On June 22, 2005, he was arrested for allegedly conspiring to distribute 94 pounds of

marijuana Cannabis, also known as marijuana among other names, is a psychoactive drug from the cannabis plant. Native to Central or South Asia, the cannabis plant has been used as a drug for both recreational and entheogenic purposes and in various tra ...

worth $60,000. Houston was subsequently suspended from the Tech football team, but was reinstated following a judge's controversial order that Houston must be allowed to play football at Tech. Houston was sentenced on April 4, 2006 to nine months

probation Probation in criminal law is a period of supervision over an offender, ordered by the court often in lieu of incarceration. In some jurisdictions, the term ''probation'' applies only to community sentences (alternatives to incarceration), such ...

as part of a

plea deal A plea bargain (also plea agreement or plea deal) is an agreement in criminal law proceedings, whereby the prosecutor provides a concession to the defendant in exchange for a plea of guilt or ''nolo contendere.'' This may mean that the defendant ...

. In December 2006, Houston was arrested in Florida for possession of over 20 grams of marijuana. He began a year-and-one-month prison sentence in June 2007 and was released in May 2008. In March 2010, Houston surrendered to the

Cobb County Cobb County is a county in the U.S. state of Georgia, located in the Atlanta metropolitan area in the north central portion of the state. As of 2020 Census, the population was 766,149. Its county seat and largest city is Marietta. Along with ...

jail on outstanding warrants for terroristic threats, aggravated assault and possession of a firearm by a convicted felon.

Hip-Hop Career

Houston is currently pursuing a career in rap music. He goes by the stage name of "Rico Richie" and received popularity with his single "Poppin" (prod.

808 Mafia 808 Mafia is an American record production and songwriting team, founded by record producers Southside, TM88, and Lex Luger. Southside is currently at the helm of the group. The group also includes producers Young Miami , Fuse 100, Tarentino, P ...

) released in 2015. Houston is currently distributed by La Familia Entertainment.

References

Living people Georgia Tech Yellow Jackets football players Georgia Tech Yellow Jackets men's track and field athletes American football cornerbacks 1982 births {{defensiveback-1980s-stub