Mullen expects Richardson, Elam to play against Kentucky

This might sound like a broken record, but Florida coach Dan Mullen is optimistic that redshirt freshman quarterback Anthony Richardson will play against Kentucky on Saturday.

Despite only playing a limited number of snaps in a reserve role, Richardson was the talk of the town after each of the first two games, so much so that many fans wanted him to replace Emory Jones as the starter.

He ran for a 73-yard touchdown against Florida Atlantic and an 80-yard touchdown against South Florida and also threw a 75-yard touchdown pass to Jacob Copeland against the Bulls.

Against USF, Richardson became the only FBS player in the last 25 season to rush for 100-plus yards, throw for 150-plus yards and complete every pass he threw.

He is the first Gator to record a 70-plus-yard touchdown run and a 75-plus-yard touchdown pass in a season since Jeff Driskel in 2012.

Despite only playing small portions of two games, he ranks fifth in the country in rushing yards among quarterbacks (275) and is UF’s second-leading rusher.

He tweaked his right hamstring toward the end of his 80-yard rush against South Florida. Mullen didn’t divulge much about his status the following week but ultimately decided not to play him against Alabama to avoid worsening the injury.

Richardson’s MRI last week showed that he was back to 100 percent, according to Mullen, but they decided to be super cautious and hold him out against Tennessee.

Perhaps the third time will be the charm for him.

“He’s ready to go,” Mullen said on Wednesday. “100 percent, ready to go.

“We’re excited to have him back and to have him ready to go play because he’s a dynamic player.”

Meanwhile, Mullen reiterated that starting cornerback Kaiir Elam is expected to play against the Wildcats. He sprained his knee against Alabama. Mullen said that he could’ve played last week if they needed him to, but they decided to give his knee additional time to heal and held him out of the Tennessee game.

His return will be huge for a secondary that ranks 90th in the country in passing defense and has intercepted just one pass this season.

Ethan Hughes
Ethan was born in Gainesville and has lived in the Starke, Florida, area his entire life. He played basketball for five years and knew he wanted to be a sportswriter when he was in middle school. He’s attended countless Gators athletic events since his early childhood, with baseball being his favorite sport to attend. He’s a proud 2019 graduate of the University of Florida and a 2017 graduate of Santa Fe College. He interned with the University Athletic Association’s communications department for 1 ½ years as a student and also wrote for InsideTheGators.com for two years before joining Gator Country in 2021. He is a long-suffering fan of the Jacksonville Jaguars. You can follow him on Twitter @ethanhughes97.