Camp Snapshot: Gators Quarterback Anthony Richardson

Richardson, Anthony (preseason scrimmage No. 2, 2021)

Anthony Richardson drops back to pass in Florida's scrimmage on Sunday at Ben Hill Griffin Stadium. (Photo: Tiffany Franco/UAA Communications)

Camp Snapshot: Gators Quarterback Anthony Richardson

Thursday, August 26, 2021 | Football, Scott Carter

By: Scott Carter, Senior Writer

GAINESVILLE, Fla. — He's 19 and equipped with a deep, leathery voice that would make actor James Earl Jones proud. He's also the backup quarterback of the Florida Gators.

You know what that makes Anthony Richardson, right? Yep, one of the most talked about players on the roster.

As Richardson gets set for the start of his redshirt freshman season, his name has come up as often as starting quarterback Emory Jones' during the consistent stream of Zoom press conferences in preseason camp. That's life for the Gators' next-man-up.

The smooth-and-easy-going Richardson is used to attention, of course. He starred across town at Gainesville Eastside High prior to enrolling at UF in January 2020. If you missed it, here is an in-depth feature I wrote on Richardson in December 2020.

Richardson served as the third-string quarterback behind Kyle Trask and Jones a year ago, but with Trask gone, both have moved up the depth chart to give the Gators a different look behind center in the fourth season for head coach Dan Mullen.

Follow local product Trent Whittemore, a redshirt sophomore receiver from Buchholz High and a year ahead of Richardson when the two competed against each other in football and basketball in high school, knows better than most what Richardson can do.

"I think the first time we actually met was my sophomore year, his freshman year, playing Eastside,'' Whittemore said. "He was at receiver, I believe, actually that year, and it was kind of just like, 'Who's this kid?' He looked like he should probably be in college, and he was a freshman in high school making crazy plays."

Fast forward five years, and Richardson is the player always one snap away from running the offense should Jones struggle or get injured.

Considering his unique place in the program – Richardson is the first scholarship quarterback from Gainesville to sign with the Gators since Chris Stephens in 1999 – he understands the additional scrutiny.

"Coach Mullen and this staff and God have blessed me with the opportunity to be here, so why not try to excel and be the best I can be,'' Richardson said. "Because, like I say, you never know what can happen so I just try to be the best I can be to my teammates, to this staff, to everybody around, even the community.

"It's a blessing. Not only because my family is super close and they come to games and watch just from around the corner, but it's a blessing because I'm being a role model to the young people in the generation in Gainesville and letting them know that anything is possible and that they can go anywhere that they want to go."

While Richardson lacks experience, those around him say he is mature for his age and shows up with the right attitude. He also showed up with a lot of natural talent.

That's why the Gators signed him. For now, Richardson is ready for whatever comes next.

"Honestly, my role, I believe, is to just to go out there and be clean-up, kind of,'' he said. "I feel like whenever Emory needs a break and they need me to come out there, I have to bring the same intensity Emory's bringing and bring the same energy, just all of that, just be the clean-up. So whenever he does his thing, I come in there – just a 1-2 punch. Never let off the gas."

Richardson, Anthony (2021 preseason camp) — **Anthony Richardson** played in four games as a freshman and gives the Gators a pair of dual-threat quarterbacks along with starter **Emory Jones**. (Photo: **Chris Kim**/UAA Communications)

A CRITICAL COMPONENT: If there is a specific advantage for Richardson over Jones or the other scholarship quarterbacks on the roster – true freshmen Carlos Del Rio-Wilson and Jalen Kitna – it's his size. Richardson and Kitna are both listed at 6-foot-4, and Richardson is the heaviest of the four players at 236 pounds. That's 26 more pounds than Kitna, 25 more than Jones and 11 more than Del Rio-Wilson. Mullen has traditionally utilized quarterback runs prior to relying heavily on the drop-back skills of Kyle Trask the past two seasons. Jones has proven to be an elusive running threat in his limited reps the past three seasons, but Richardson has the build to pick up those tough third-and-short runs the way another No. 15 did for the Gators in Mullen's first stint in Gainesville.

THE BIG PICTURE: Richardson had a strong preseason camp and is forecast to have a consistent role in the offense, perhaps giving the defense a different look from time to time the way Jones did earlier in his career. While his size and athletic ability are considered his greatest attributes at this point in his career – Richardson was a talented basketball player at Eastside High as well – don't discount Richardson's ability as a passer. He threw multiple scoring passes in both scrimmages of preseason camp and connected with Jordan Pouncey for a touchdown in the Cotton Bowl, which for now stands as the only completion of Richardson's young college career. Until the season starts, it's mostly guesswork as to how Mullen will use Richardson, but he seems too talented and enough of an alternative to Jones to leave on the bench for long stints without breaking a sweat.

QUOTE OF NOTE: "I think he's prepared himself to be the starter, which is what you want. He's going to be ready to get on the field in just about any situation. Now it's our job to kind of put him in the different situations, so that he has that experience in every different possible scenario for when he is on the field." – Gators head coach Dan Mullen on Richardson's development

IN THE HUDDLE: Jones has waited his turn to start and enters his fourth year in the program finally atop the depth chart. Richardson played in only four games a season ago as a true freshman and like Jones in 2018, had time to get acclimated to the program and learn the finer points of the position from Mullen and former quarterbacks coach Brian Johnson. With Johnson off to the NFL, veteran coach Garrick McGee is now in charge of the quarterback room and is impressed with what Richardson offers. McGee said Richardson possesses "a lot of raw talent" and that he's confident he can get the job done when called upon. "I think [the offense is] going to be about the same as when Emory is out there in regards to what we're doing to move the ball," McGee said. "I think Coach has done a good job with the installation and, you know, who we're going to be as an offense, and both guys can execute that plan. So I think we'll just continue business as usual when Anthony is out there."