GAINESVILLE, Fla. — Quick, who is the highest-draft football player in school history?
Yes, receiver
Wes Chandler is a good guess. He went third overall to the Saints in 1978. No,
Tim Tebow was a first-rounder, but Denver did not select him until the 25th overall pick.
Kyle Pitts was the highest-draft tight end, but he didn't go until the fourth overall pick.
OK, we're all busy, so here you go:
Paul Duhart and Chuck Hunsinger. Both were running backs. Both went second overall, Duhart to the Steelers in 1945 and Hunsinger to the Bears in 1950.
We only mention this because of the wild speculation regarding a certain quarterback since he blew away those at last week's NFL Combine.
Here are our latest Three Bits of Gators.
1. ANTHONY RICHARDSON
Lamar Jackson is in a contract dispute with the Ravens.
Derek Carr is headed to New Orleans.
Aaron Rodgers has emerged from his hideout.
Meanwhile, former Gators quarterback
Anthony Richardson has conquered NFL headlines since his performance at the combine, where the 6-foot-4, 244-pound Richardson wowed the national media and NFL personnel with his raw physical tools.
None of that came as a surprise to Gators fans or the media that cover the program regularly. Richardson is an elite athlete, a likable person, and a young quarterback with a ceiling near Mount Everest's peak.
The buzz has continued since the combine, with ESPN draft analyst
Todd McShay projecting Tuesday that Richardson will go to the Las Vegas Raiders with the fourth overall pick (McShay has Las Vegas trading up in his latest mock draft).
At this point, anything seems possible with Richardson. Some could see Richardson going No. 1 overall if the right dominoes fall before the draft. No Florida player has ever gone No. 1 overall in the draft.
McShay has heard concerns from teams regarding Richardson.
"What I keep getting when I'm talking to scouts and general managers is, 'I'm scared to death that we're drafting a quarterback that is going to be two, three years down the road and may never get it,' " McShay said on ESPN's
Get Up. "He just may never be the guy. But I'm also scared to death if I pass on him that I'm gonna have to play him once or twice a year because he has a chance to be absolutely special. That's how talented he is."
Steve Spurrier remains the highest-draft quarterback in school history, going No. 3 overall to San Francisco in 1967. Richardson, who made only 13 starts with the Gators before entering the draft, treats all the hype and questions like a veteran.
"I don't even care what everybody else says,'' Richardson told
ESPN.com. "It's about what those 32 teams think. And just one of them has to like me."
2. JOSH RIVERA
How was your Tuesday night? Probably not as good as Gators shortstop
Josh Rivera's.
Rivera was the star of Florida's 18-11 victory over Florida Atlantic at Condron Ballpark, where the teams will meet on Wednesday night to complete a midweek two-game set.
Rivera went 3-for-4 with two home runs and a career-high nine RBI, the most RBI for a UF player since that memorable four-homer, 10-RBI game from
JJ Schwarz eight years ago.
Rivera hit a three-run homer in the first, an RBI sacrifice fly in the fourth, another three-run homer in the fifth, and a two-run single in the eighth.
"He is just playing at a high level right now," UF coach
Kevin O'Sullivan said. "What he is doing defensively is just another level; offensively, you don't have many nights like this."
In his last seven games, Rivera is 11-for-26 with six homers and 17 RBI. He is batting .412 with seven homers and a team-high 27 RBI entering Wednesday's game. Rivera has started all 14 games and is just five RBI shy of matching his career high of 32 from a season ago.
Rivera arrived at UF as a top prospect from the IMG Academy, but inconsistency and a tendency to become frustrated quickly limited his production. As a fourth-year junior, Rivera has become more selective at the plate and is playing the best defense of his career.
He made a leaping catch to start a double play in Sunday's win over Miami, and on Tuesday night, Rivera scooped a slow grounder barehanded and threw to first to retire FAU's leadoff batter to start the top of the eighth inning.
Rivera is a difference-maker for the Gators.
"I think you've seen flashes of it, but it just hasn't been consistent,'' O'Sullivan said. "He has probably been his own worst enemy at times. I think it comes down to one word: maturity. He's been everything we could have asked for, obviously."
3. RUSS CALLAWAY
Gators assistant coach
Russ Callaway joined
Billy Napier's inaugural UF staff a season ago as a defensive intern. While the Gators have not officially announced the move, Callaway has been promoted to coach tight ends this spring following the departure of
William Peagler for a position with the Arizona Cardinals.
The 35-year-old Callaway is a former quarterback at Valdosta State who spent a season with the New York Giants in 2021 as an offensive assistant. He was on the same Giants staff with current Gators offensive line coach
Rob Sale.
Sale said Tuesday that Napier's insistence on a large support staff has paid off.
"That's why you have a big staff," Sale said Tuesday. "We can do a lot of projects, and then you lose a guy, you can elevate a guy until the interview process is over and you find something. It's good to have a big staff. It helps in so many ways."
Callaway has experience in the Southeastern Conference as a senior offensive analyst at LSU in 2020. Before his time in Baton Rouge, he served as offensive coordinator and receivers coach during five seasons at Samford.
On the first day of spring camp Saturday, Napier addressed his hiring philosophy following the departure of former defensive coordinator
Patrick Toney, receivers coach
Keary Colbert and Peagler last month.
"I'm not just going to flip a coin and hire a guy," he said. "If we have the person in place that we think is capable, we make those moves quickly. If we don't, then we're going to be very thorough."
