Quarterback Anthony Richardson, an early enrollee who practiced with the Gators during their Orange Bowl prep, starred at Gainesville's Eastside High. (Photo: Tim Casey/UAA Communications)
Hometown QB Richardson a Future Netflix Star with Shot to Star Someday for Gators
Saturday, December 21, 2019 | Football, Scott Carter
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By: Scott Carter, Senior Writer
GAINESVILLE, Fla. – All the familiar props were in place as the final scene unfolded on Wednesday just a short drive from Ben Hill Griffin Stadium. The Eastside High School auditorium was packed. A Gators helmet sat on the table. Those in attendance aimed cameras and smartphones at the star attraction, Rams quarterback Anthony Richardson.
On the first day of the Early Signing Period, similar events took place at high schools all across the country. But this one was different from others. Some of the cameras pointing toward Richardson when he embraced his mom, LaShawnda Lane, recorded footage for the Netflix documentary series "QB1: Beyond the Lights."
A Netflix crew has tailed Richardson on and off since August to document his senior season for Season 4 of the streaming service's hit series, which follows three high school quarterbacks as they transition from high school to college. Past participants include Georgia's Jake Fromm, Ohio State's Justin Fields, Miami's Tate Martell and Maryland's Lance LeGendre.
Netflix is granted all-access.
Over the past few months, Richardson has been in front of the cameras at home, at school, at practice, at games, at dinners out and on a trip to Miami to visit relatives. The first scholarship quarterback from within city limits to sign with the Gators since Chris Stephens 20 years ago, the 6-foot-4, 233-pound Richardson now must wait to see the final product.
"When this thing airs, it's going to be wild sitting there actually watching it,'' said Richardson in his trademark deep, creamy voice. "It's just crazy." Anthony Richardson and his mother, LaShawnda Lane, during a recruiting visit to Florida.
A fan of the show since it premiered in 2017, Richardson watched Season 3 in a single setting as his polar opposite off the field, the exuberant LeGendre, entertained viewers. Richardson had no idea that one day he would play a starring role.
According to those who know him best, Richardson isn't your typical attention-starved teenager who lives on social media, which makes the past four months all the more unusual.
Unlike many recruits of his stature – Richardson earned a four-star and No. 5 overall dual-threat quarterback ranking from 247Sports.com – he wasn't consumed by the theatrics that others crave on the recruiting trail.
"He is very down to earth and very humble,'' said Eastside coach Cedderick Daniels. "He is always looking to get better and appreciates criticism. He has a select group of friends. He doesn't let many people into his inside world."
Daniels began to tell people the Rams had a special player with a bright future not long after Richardson joined the team. He would make plays that others simply can't, including a one-handed catch as a freshman that went viral on social media. Soon, word was out that Richardson, who attended nearby Professional Academies Magnet at Loften High School, was worth the price of admission on Friday nights at Citizens Field.
At Loften, which doesn't have a football team, Richardson displayed a focus similar to what he carries onto the field. As part of his regular curriculum, Richardson studied for a career as a fireman and gained admiration for his drive to succeed, crediting his mom for instilling in him a sense of determination
"In eighth grade, she signed me up for it,'' he said. "When I got there, everything was perfect. The school is not a big school. It's quiet, it's calm. The teachers are there to help you. If I really wanted to, I could serve one more year and pursue that and get a job immediately in the fire service."
Instead, he plans to study criminology at UF and perhaps pursue a career in law enforcement or as a detective. For now, most know him only for football and his unexpected role in front of the cameras.
Netflix's final day with Richardson and the Rams was on Wednesday. Next, the show will go into production and is scheduled to be released in late summer. Meanwhile, Richardson has graduated and got to practice with the Gators during their Orange Bowl prep.
After recently concluding his fourth season at Eastside, Daniels realizes the Rams are unlikely to have another one quite like it.
"You thought it was going to be a distraction but it really wasn't,'' he said. "I thought we had some of our best practices when they were there. You look up and there's a cameraman in the bushes. Ant handled it well."
Ant. Ant Man. Big Fella. Silent Assassin. Anthony. Tony.
Those are some of the nicknames Richardson has accumulated over the years. The two most important in his mom's eyes are Anthony and Tony.
Two names, one person.
"Anthony is the one that will do backflips in games and will dance and laugh and joke, the one everybody wants to be around. Anthony loves math and science," LaShawnda said. "Tony is the more, 'get out of his way.' He is focused. Schoolwork has to get done. Football practice, you need to be on time. You need to be serious about this. You don't want to bother Tony. You want to feed Tony and get out of his way."
Before a deeper dive into Richardson's personality, you have to meet Jobbin Tanka Lane, LaShawnda's late uncle. If you meet Richardson, the memory of Tanka -- the name the family prefers to use -- will be very close. He's represented by a tattoo of a crowned lion on Richardson's right forearm, the one that tightens each time he throws a pass.
Tanka died when Richardson was in sixth grade. He never wants to forget him.
"He has always been around for me, whether it's for school or football,'' Richardson said. "He always looked at me as his son. That's always stayed with me. I just love how he was always there for me."
As a young man growing up in Miami, Tanka Lane played football at American High, which opened in 1976 and served as a melting pot for the city's growing and diverse population. In his two seasons, the Patriots won one game. That victory over North Miami High was later forfeited when a Carol City High coach protested that Lane, a senior defensive lineman who teammates called "Tank," should be ruled ineligible because he had played for Carol City as a sophomore prior to American's opening.
Politics of the day won.
Former American coach Leroy Daniels, now retired after 38 years as a coach and art teacher in the Miami-Dade public school system, recalled Lane's positive influence on a team that started from scratch and took its lumps on the scoreboard.
"Jobbin was a stand-up kid,'' the 85-year-old Daniels said from his home in South Florida. "He was a leader and the other kids respected him and followed him. I remember that."
Freshman quarterback Anthony Richardson prepares to throw at a Gators practice this week. (Photo: Tim Casey/UAA Communications)
As the episode played out, Lane displayed the type of maturity others describe when discussing Richardson.
In a story in the Nov. 19, 1977 edition of the now-defunct Miami News, Lane shared his appreciation of Leroy Daniels going to bat for him during the controversy.
"Coach Daniels sticks up for us," he said. "He likes to walk around and be real tough, but if he sees you're in there, he becomes just like a brother. He watches what you do in class, at home. And when you're done with him, you walk away knowing he cares."
Richardson was born in Miami and at different times growing up he and his mom lived with relatives. Younger brother Cory was born in Tennessee. LaShawnda grew up in Miami and in search of a better life for the boys, she moved to Gainesville to find affordable housing and a job in 2013.
When Richardson was barely able to walk, it was Lane who first taught him how to throw a football. He took off from there, joining his first youth team – the Carol City Chiefs – when he "was 4 or 5 years old" to the best of his recollection. Lane saw the young boy's promise and told LaShawnda to make sure he did well in school. If she did that part, he would ensure he played the game the right way.
LaShawnda understood her uncle's message crystal clear when Richardson participated in a throwing contest at Miramar Elementary School when he was a fourth-grader. As she and her sister watched another young competitor warm up like a professional and then make a long throw, LaShawnda had doubts.
Anthony sat off the side as if he didn't have a care in the world.
"I'm nervous. Anthony's got to throw against this little boy,'' LaShawnda said. "It was his turn. Anthony was just sitting there so calm."
When he finally made his throw, the contest was over.
"The guy had to get in the golf cart to go get the ball,'' she said. "As he was going, he looked back and did a double-take. He was like, 'this little boy threw the ball?' "
Once LaShawnda and the boys settled in Gainesville, they found a home. The slower pace of life fit the family well. Still, Tanka was only a phone call away when they needed help. He would get in the car at a moment's notice to offer a hand until he got too sick and passed away in his late 50s.
While Richardson has contact with his biological father, Lane's presence looms large in his life. Same for LaShawnda, years after her uncle's death.
"That was the male figure in his life. That's what he knows. That's what the man was for him," LaShawnda said. "He was funny. He was caring. There wasn't a soul in the world he didn't care about. It didn't have to be his child. You were somebody to him."
If Richardson's childhood was often uncertain and featured multiple moves in search of a better life, his commitment to the Gators stayed on solid ground – even when it appeared otherwise.
Richardson, first verbally offered by Florida in the spring of 2018, committed to the Gators in July of that year after a breakout sophomore season. That's when he started to garner more and more attention from college recruiters with offers from Southern Miss and Louisville.
Around that same period is when he first started to notice the heightened interest in his college destination.
"Everybody had something to say about it whether it was negative or positive,'' he said. "It was shocking."
Richardson began his career at Eastside as a receiver but when the starting quarterback suffered a broken finger, Richardson took over and never looked back. As a junior, he passed for 1,567 yards with 17 touchdowns and six interceptions, and rushed for 924 yards and 16 touchdowns to help the Rams finish 7-4 and qualify for the state playoffs.
However, he decommitted from UF in February of this year as Penn State and other top-tier programs made a late push. Richardson, his mom and coach talked about the recruiting process in depth long before it ever started. The final decision was his and they would support it wherever he chose, but the rarity of a Gainesville kid signing to play quarterback at Florida added an extra layer of intrigue.
Following his decommitment and eventual recommitment two months later, LaShawnda said she never seriously considered he would not play for UF head coach Dan Mullen and quarterbacks coach Brian Johnson. Richardson knew their history at Mississippi State with Dak Prescott and how he could someday fit nicely into their offense.
"For a moment, I thought that he was going to Penn State. I was willing to move. I was going to follow my baby," LaShawnda said. "But I always knew he was going to Florida. It felt normal for him. It wasn't forced. I was scared for a second because the Penn State coaches were coming down here and I liked them, and he liked them, too. I just always knew."
Once he renewed his pledge to the Gators and Netflix came to town, Richardson put together a solid senior season (1,398 yards passing, 8 TD, 1 INT, 151 yards rushing, 7 TD) before a shoulder injury cost him the final four games. The Rams finished 2-8 and Richardson began to eye the future.
Despite the forgettable ending, Richardson left a mark at Eastside unlike anyone since tight end Harold "Gator" Hoskins. Hoskins earned a scholarship to Marshall, where in 2013 he caught 15 touchdowns. He played briefly in the NFL with the Dolphins and Seahawks.
Richardson could be next if he continues to develop his raw ability.
"It's just natural, God-given strength,'' Cedderick Daniels said. "I have faith that Coach Mullen is going to fine tune him. His arm is probably one of the strongest in the country for a high school quarterback."
In his brief time as a member of the Florida program, Richardson has made a favorable impression since joining a quarterback group that includes Kyle Trask and Emory Jones.
As he gets acclimated to how the Gators operate and learns the playbook, Richardson's size, athletic ability and strong arm have opened eyes and created interest beyond a viral photo that showed him in an oversized jersey at the first practice he participated in last weekend.
"He is a stud,'' Trask said earlier this week. "He is going to be great for his university. He is a very talented kid."
Senior defensive lineman Jonathan Greenard, who started his career at Louisville and was a teammate of current NFL MVP favorite Lamar Jackson, echoed Trask's assessment.
"He's got some zip,'' Greenard said. "He's very mature coming in so far, kind of jelling with the older guys and younger guys really well. He's going to be really good. So, be on the lookout for him."
Anthony Richardson starred at Eastside High the past four season, starting his career at receiver before moving to quarterback his freshman season.
Besides the normal scrutiny that comes with playing quarterback at Florida, Richardson's story has the distinction of doing it for his hometown school. Once he made it known publicly that he planned to attend Florida, he noticed a spike in attention wherever he went around town.
He said a perfect night at this stage in his life is when he can unwind by pulling on a pair of headphones, turning on music and playing Fortnite, his favorite video game. Of course, that's been more difficult than usual the past few months.
Not that he is complaining.
"When I first moved here, I didn't even know there was a college here,'' Richardson said. "When I think about it, I'm just happy to actually think I'm going to college. I'm truly blessed to be one of the first in my family.
"Wherever I go, at least some person is like, 'I can't wait to see you on that field.' It makes me feel good because you're recognized and people actually know who you are, that you're able to play football in your home city."
Mullen touched on that dynamic at his Early Signing Day press conference Wednesday. He has seen it work both ways. Sometimes, a local player recruited by the hometown school is swayed easily by what's new and unfamiliar away from home.
For Richardson, there was that brief decommitment and flirtation with the other side of the fence, but in the end, he made the decision to play college football only 3.5 miles from where he starred in high school.
"It's unique,'' Mullen said. "When you sit there and you say, 'we're scouting the nation for the top quarterback and he's sitting right here in Gainesville, Florida,' that's a pretty good deal."
As his star pupil began the next phase of his career, Eastside coach Daniels got a call this week.
Richardson was on the other line, checking in like he has so many times the past four years. Daniels expects more calls as the days pass.
The Netflix cameras are turned off, but Richardson's story remains largely untold. Daniels' advice: stay on script.
"I'm happy for him that he's getting the notoriety. He deserves it. I also in the same breath told him to enjoy it now, but in a couple of weeks when January comes, distance yourself from social media, don't pay attention to what anyone writes about you, hone in on your job,'' Daniels said. "Because for local kids, there is so much extra pressure, especially when you are playing a high-profile position.
"Everyone is expecting you to come in and be the man and make plays. And coming from Gainesville, especially from East Gainesville, he's the first person in a long time to play on this stage."
