There were plenty of upset Gator fans on Saturday night after Florida’s ugly performance against Kentucky in the Swamp. The loss came immediately after Anthony Richardson and the Gators were the talk of college football.
In a game with 22 NFL scouts in attendance, Richardson struggled mightily; connecting on just 14 of 35 passes for 143 yards and two interceptions. Richardson excelled on the ground in week one but only totaled four yards on six attempts in the week two loss.
One thing I can promise you is nobody was feeling worse than Anthony Richardson on Saturday night. In an emotional post-game press conference, Richardson took all the blame for the loss to Kentucky.
“We lost, and I feel like it’s completely on me,’ Richardson said. “A lot of people say it’s not, but I feel like it’s on me. I played terrible. I didn’t do anything that would’ve helped my team. I tried to lead, but I didn’t feel like I did that real well tonight. I take full responsibility for the loss.”
“Just got to play better. I feel like I let everybody down,” Richardson said. “Especially the defense because I looked everybody on defense in the eye and I told them I’ve got them and that I was put up points for them. Obviously, I did not. I turned the ball over, twice…three times. I fumbled the ball once. It was a tough loss and I’ve got to play better for the team and the university.”
During the game I recognized that Richardson looked spooked. It seemed liked he couldn’t get into a rhythm, like something was bothering him. Richardson admitted that he lost his confidence early in the game and struggled to get it back.
“I started the game off and missed a couple of wide-open throws and my confidence got shot,” Richardson said. “It affected my receivers poorly, you know, missing them wide open. So, I know their confidence probably went down as well. I didn’t help my o-line. I didn’t help my running backs. I didn’t help the team. So mentally, I sat myself down a little bit, but I tried to stay in it. And physically, I was fine, just trying to play through it and just play the game.”
Richardson didn’t have to speak to the media after the game, but he wanted to take full responsibility, that’s what leaders do. The players in the locker room will notice that.
Richardson said he needs to grow from this experience.
“You’ve just got to grow. With this game and with life, adversity is going to come and you just have to grow,” Richardson said. “Especially from this because everybody expects a lot from me and I expect a lot from myself. I didn’t showcase anything that I’m capable of tonight.”
Billy Napier spoke highly of his quarterback in the post-game interview.
“I think there’s no one that’s his own worst critic than Anthony [Richardson],” Napier said.
This is obvious if you watched Richardson’s post-game interview.
“He’s the ultimate competitor. He wants to do his job for the team,” Napier said. “Can’t talk enough about his loyalty, his sense of responsibility for playing the position and doing that really well for the team.”
You can’t expect Richardson to give up on himself, his team, or Gator Nation.
“One thing I know about Anthony is he is going to be a fighter,” Napier said. “He is going to show back up and he is going to work hard to improve. He has that level of investment and commitment to the players and the people in the organization.”
Napier believes that Richardson is going to grow from this experience.
“Ultimately, I know that the most growth in life comes from some of the most difficult struggles that you go through. I think the game’s no different,” Napier said.” He’s really going to grow and improve and learn lessons and grow his character relative to how he responds. With these things comes opportunity, if you have the right attitude and approach.”
I think it’s important to understand that Richardson is still a young player. Before the season started, he had only thrown 33 passes, that’s about one game’s worth. Richardson is still a developing QB that needs to work on his accuracy. Richardson is a rhythm passer. When he’s in a groove, he’s going to score the football. When he’s off, it seems like nothing’s going right. The only way Richardson will snap out of this is by playing more football. Don’t turn your back on Richardson. He’s clearly still a work in progress, but Napier has been telling us that all along.
Richardson gets his chance to bounce back this week against USF.