There have been plenty of ups and downs so far this season for Anthony Richardson and this Florida Gator passing game. Richardson, who is 61-for-118 for 847 yards and four touchdowns in SEC play this season, looks to build on that this weekend against the Dawgs.
About a year ago, Richardson got his first start against a brutal Georgia defense that went on to win the national title. Although the sophomore hasn’t hit his full potential, a lot has changed since then.
Richardson has gained the experience that he was missing last year, as well as the confidence needed to win this type of football game. This weekend, Gator fans will get a great look at how much their quarterback has improved since taking the field for his first collegiate start.
“I feel like I’ve made huge leaps of improvement,” Richardson said. “There’s still a ways to go, but just thinking about it, time does fly. It seemed like yesterday it was my first start against Georgia. I feel like we were doing pretty good until those last couple minutes of the game.”
The Anthony Richardson that plays with confidence, and not nerves, will need to show up for Florida Saturday if the Gators are to win this football game. When Richardson shines, so does the offense.
“Before the game, I had a lot of jitters. I was in my head a lot. I was a little nervous. First career start against the No. 1 defense, so of course I was thinking a lot,” Richardson said on last year’s game in Jacksonville. “Just processing it and thinking about it, it’s taught me a lot about football itself and how to manage the game and how to take control of the game.”
Richardson had a lot to take away his first loss as a starting quarterback, and he continues to improve and apply it to his game today.
The approach to each game has been the biggest difference in Richardson’s game, which will need to be on point Saturday afternoon.
“Managing everything, the emotions, the moment, the game itself, just managing everything and letting it come to you instead of just trying to force everything,” Richardson said on his approach to each game since last year. “I’ve started a few games this year, so that’s one huge comparison I can make to that. Just letting the game come to me.”
The passing game needs to be a threat this weekend if this team is to have any chance of success. Running the football will only get you so far against the 4th ranked defense in the country.
Richardson’s connection with his receivers has been a big priority all week.
“I feel like the work with the receivers is going pretty well,” Richardson said. “That’s just chemistry and just understanding what we both want. Those guys want the ball. I want to get them the ball. It’s just understanding like the spots to be open on the field and understanding the coverages behind it.”
It’s going to take a lot to beat Georgia in week nine. Although the chances aren’t significantly high, this team has what it takes to win.
“Just stay focused. That’s doing your assignment. Focusing on what you’ve got to do, and just focusing on the win. Every win is a big win for us. This one is an SEC game, so an SEC win would be great for us. Just being in Jacksonville and winning that game would be a big win for us,” Richardson said on what it would mean to win this game and what it takes.
If it wasn’t for small simple mistakes, who knows what the stakes would be for this game Saturday, and who knows what Florida’s record would be.
This team could also be without a win on its record if it wasn’t for their will to win as a football team.
“There’s multiple times on the film where you can see it isn’t one guy not doing what he’s supposed to do, including myself,” Richardson said. “Not looking at the signals correctly, missing motions and shifts and stuff, just stuff like that. But just knowing that minor things like that could potentially change how the season is going is definitely kind of crazy to think about.”
It doesn’t just apply to the big rivalry match-up against Georgia, it applies to every remaining game on this team’s schedule. The past and what could have been needs to be the last thing on this team’s mind if they are to find any success throughout the rest of the season.
If Florida can move forward and focus on what needs to be done as a whole unit from this week, until the last week of the season, it’s possible this team wins three or four more games.
Execution on offense will need to be nearly perfect if the Dawgs are to go down this Saturday in Jacksonville.