INDIANAPOLIS — Alabama running back Trent Richardson deals with everything the same way — head on.

That goes for linebackers, interview questions and the perception that running backs are no longer as important as they once were.

Few running backs have been drafted early in recent years as the league has shifted to a running back-by-committee approach with specialists. The 225-pound Richardson believes he’s the every-down back who can take the position back to the way they used to be.

“We’re getting pounded every down,” he said Friday at the NFL combine. “Everybody needs a running back and everybody’s got to use that running back. The value of a running back is not the same, and it’s crazy to us.”

The only running back chosen in the first round last year was Richardson’s former Alabama teammate, Mark Ingram. In 2010, C.J. Spiller, Ryan Mathews and Jahvid Best were taken in the first round. Three backs were taken in the first round in 2009, down from five in 2008.

Then again, few backs in recent years have had Richardson’s combination of speed, power and thirst for contact. Richardson, considered the top back in this year’s class, ran for 1,679 yards and 21 touchdowns last season and was a Heisman Trophy finalist. He also caught 29 passes for 338 yards and three more scores.

All those things have given Richardson a rare level of confidence. Well before the draft, he’s already talking about clashing with Baltimore Ravens linebacker Ray Lewis.

“It’s a mindset thing,” he said. “I’m not saying that Ray Lewis is not going to take me out, but when it comes down to it, we’ll have to see each other in the hole. I love Uncle Ray to death. I know he’s going to try to bring all the contact he can and he’s going to try to beat me up in the hole. But why would you stand down?”

Richardson says it’s more than physical tools that set him apart. He enjoys blocking and watching film, important things that aren’t nearly as popular as carrying the ball.

“Not to be cocky or anything, I work on my game every day,” he said. “Even if it’s not physical stuff, I work in the classroom, running plays, learning formations or learning the defensive line, learning what the linebacker’s doing.”