Anthony Richardson’s first year in a Gators uniform didn’t pan out like he envisioned. He enrolled in the spring so that he could get a jump start on learning the offense and improving his passing mechanics. The goal was for him to be somewhat advanced entering his second spring and compete to replace Kyle Trask as the starter.
Then, of course, as with just about everything else in the world, COVID-19 destroyed those plans. Spring practice was canceled, and in-person interactions with his new teammates and coaches were basically eliminated until July. Almost every advantage he tried to gain by enrolling early was wiped out.
With six spring practices this year under his belt, Richardson is trying to make up for lost time.
“I was ready to just get going, just to start playing football again, and just missing out on spring, that really took a toll on me because I wasn’t able to learn as much as I needed to within that time,” Richardson said. “So, just missing out on the spring and having COVID stop it, it was kind of tough.”
The year wasn’t a total waste, however. He played in four games in 2020 and threw his first touchdown pass against Oklahoma in the Cotton Bowl. He also got to learn from one of the best quarterbacks in school history in Trask.
“Just poise and the way he processes things,” Richardson said. “As a quarterback, you can’t be too tempted. You can’t move too quick because, if you do, you might make the wrong read or a bad decision. You don’t need that as a quarterback because basically you’re the leader of the team, so making smart decisions and being poised and being patient [are important].”
Those experiences give him a sense of comfort as he prepares for the potential of an expanded role this season.
“I have more confidence coming into this spring than I did last year,” he said. “Last year, I didn’t really get a spring, so it was just a lot to process trying to get through it all within the time limit that we had in the fall. But this spring, I feel like I have a lot more confidence to be able to compete and do what I have to do.”
Richardson might still be growing his confidence, but there’s no questioning that he has all of the physical traits that you want in a quarterback. He’s Cam Newton or Tim Tebow-sized at 6-foot-4 and 232 pounds. He’s a powerful runner that doesn’t shy away from contact. He runs a sub-4.7-second 40-yard dash. He has a cannon for a right arm, which allows him to make every throw.
While he has all the physical tools it takes to play the position at an elite level, his skills are still somewhat raw. He only played quarterback for two years at Eastside High School in Gainesville, and he struggled with accuracy as a junior. He needs to fine-tune his mechanics so that he can become more accurate, and he also needs to improve at the mental aspects of the position. Richardson said new quarterbacks coach Garrick McGee is working with him on those things this spring.
“I’m working on trying to become a more accurate passer,” he said. “Everyone knows I can run, so I’m just trying to become more of a passer, and I’m just trying to understand defenses more so passing can become easier.”
Due to Richardson’s sky-high potential and some accuracy issues by Emory Jones in a couple portions of practice, some fans have wondered if Richardson might get a serious chance to win the starting job this season. Some have outright expressed their desire for him to win the job.
However, Dan Mullen was very defensive of Jones when asked about his accuracy earlier this week, and even Richardson seemed to acknowledge that he likely won’t start in the fall. If you read between the lines, it’s pretty clear what Richardson’s role will likely be.
“I feel like my role on the team is just to be a good teammate to Emory,” he said. “He’s been here for a long time. I know I just got here, but it’s still going to be a competition. I try to be a good teammate just to keep him going, keep pushing, just keep the team going forward.”
The last two years have shown, however, just how important it is to have a capable backup quarterback. If not for Feleipe Franks’ gruesome ankle injury, Trask may have never started a game at Florida. Instead, he rewrote the school record books. Richardson needs to be ready at a moment’s notice in the event that Jones gets injured or doesn’t perform up to standard.
“We’re a very quarterback-based offense,” Mullen said. “We put a lot on our quarterbacks here. There are some [schools] that don’t really put as much on the quarterback. So, it’s not as critical as maybe for some systems as others. Ours it is because we put an awful lot on the quarterback, so you’ve got to be ready. You’re one play away from that guy being the starter, and being the starter at Florida is a great, great responsibility.”
To get Richardson and the two freshmen quarterbacks prepared, Mullen and McGee are throwing a lot of things at them this spring. They want them to have a basic knowledge of as much of the offense as possible so that they don’t have to scale the playbook down if Jones gets injured. They can just plug somebody else in there and keep doing what they’ve been doing. Throwing the kitchen sink at them also allows the coaches to gauge what each player is most comfortable with so that they can make the appropriate tweaks over the summer.
Mullen also said that they will play multiple guys early in the season to get the backups ready should their number be called later in the season. For Richardson, that likely means taking advantage of his size in short-yardage situations. Expect him to have a Tebow-like role with power runs and one-read passes.
Richardson is confident that he’ll be able to handle whatever the coaches throw at him.
“I know what I’m capable of doing,” Richardson said. “I like football a lot; I actually love it. Football’s always going to be a game of football. So, just learning what I’m learning now and what [Mullen’s] teaching us, I feel like I’m ready.”
Richardson wouldn’t have been able to say that eight months ago.