Anthony Richardson has best SEC performance by Gator QB

[Escambia94]

We have seen the best and worst of Anthony Richardson this season. Against Kentucky and USF he had two of the worst QB outings in UF history, and against Utah and Tennessee he had two of the best. His performance against Tennessee is the best all-time against an SEC opponent. Richardson threw for a whopping 453 yards and two touchdowns on 24 of 44 passing, while rushing for 62 yards and two more scores on 17 carries. His 515 total yards is the most by a Florida quarterback in an SEC game in program history, and third most including non-conference opponents behind Tim Tebow vs Cincinnati (533) and Emory Jones vs Samford (550). Richardson broke the school record in SEC play set by Kyle Trask, who totaled 469 yards of offense against Georgia in 2020 (474 passing). Richardson’s 453 yards passing ranks ninth in a single game in program history. He eclipsed the 200-yard, 300-yard and 400-yard passing thresholds for the first time in his career. He became the first-ever Florida quarterback to pass for 450-plus yards and two passing touchdowns while rushing for 50-plus yards and two rushing touchdowns in a single game.

 

[DRU2012]

We have seen the best and worst of Anthony Richardson this season. Against Kentucky and USF he had two of the worst QB outings in UF history, and against Utah and Tennessee he had two of the best. His performance against Tennessee is the best all-time against an SEC opponent. Richardson threw for a whopping 453 yards and two touchdowns on 24 of 44 passing, while rushing for 62 yards and two more scores on 17 carries. His 515 total yards is the most by a Florida quarterback in an SEC game in program history, and third most including non-conference opponents behind Tim Tebow vs Cincinnati (533) and Emory Jones vs Samford (550). Richardson broke the school record in SEC play set by Kyle Trask, who totaled 469 yards of offense against Georgia in 2020 (474 passing). Richardson’s 453 yards passing ranks ninth in a single game in program history. He eclipsed the 200-yard, 300-yard and 400-yard passing thresholds for the first time in his career. He became the first-ever Florida quarterback to pass for 450-plus yards and two passing touchdowns while rushing for 50-plus yards and two rushing touchdowns in a single game.

As I said elsewhere after the game, yes: AR has by now practically DEFINED "up and down performance" in extremis. We've seen the consequences of his lack of experience AND his massively promising talent, his physical skills.
With time, there is little doubt what great impact he can have in leading the Gator offense.
Will he have the chance?
That remains to be seen.

 

[Escambia94]

As I said elsewhere after the game, yes: AR has by now practically DEFINED "up and down performance" in extremis. We've seen the consequences of his lack of experience AND his massively promising talent, his physical skills.
With time, there is little doubt what great impact he can have in leading the Gator offense.
Will he have the chance?
That remains to be seen.

Richardson proved that he has the potential to be great, yet he also reminded us of why Gator coaches rarely throw in a freshman or sophomore. Unlike many other programs, Florida often gets ranked opponents early in the schedule. This year only two teams in the nation played 3 ranked teams in the first 4 weeks: Texas Tech and Florida. The difference is that Texas Tech is not starting a QB for the first time, and they started with a cupcake for warmup. Texas Tech beat Murray State 63-10, squeaked past #25 Houston 33-20 in 2OT, lost 14-27 to #16 NC State, then beat #22 Texas 37-34 in OT. Richardson got his first start against #2 Georgia last year and did not start again until he faced #7 Utah (won 29-26), #20 Kentucky (lost 16-26), USF (won 31-28), and #11 Tennessee (lost 33-38). Compare that stretch against any other QB. Joe Burrow already had 9 games of mop-up duty at Ohio State before he started at LSU before facing #8 Miami (won 33-17), unranked SE Lousiana, and #7 Auburn (won 22-21). Miami dropped out of the rankings by midseason and finished 7-6. Auburn dropped out of the rankings by midseason and went 8-5. LSU went 10-3, but Burrow was shaken by the Gators. The point being that as Gator fans we are too selective in our comparisons. There is nothing to compare Richardson against. There are no other QBs who have been thrown at top-15 teams (including an eventual national champion) in his first 5 starts without any mop-up experience or starting experience against cupcakes. Of course we are going to see some of the worst performances. What we are not used to seeing is a QB in his first 5 starts already shattering records established by QBs with much more experience.

 

[DRU2012]

@Escambia94,
The above is exactly my point about Richardson's decision whether to go after this season or stay another year is so huge--and NOT just for us.
The way things have changed (and continue to change) in college football, it is hard to say how this will play out. But my suspicion remains that if the high-draft-position "big money" turns out to still be forthcoming after all, it will be difficult to convince him to stay at UF. There are some options, but that's how it looks from here.

 

[Escambia94]

Richardson is still a top-5 QB prospect for the 2023 NFL Draft:
1. Bryce Young, Alabama
2. CJ Stroud, Ohio State
3. Anthony Richardson, Florida
4. Will Levis, Kentucky
5. Tanner McKee, Stanford
6. Tyler Van Dyke, Miami
7. Phil Jurkovec, Boston College
8. Herndon Hooker, Tennessee
9. Spencer Rattler, South Carolina
10. DJ Uiaegalalea, Clemson

 

[DRU2012]

That STILL doesn't necessarily mean it is "The right" or "BEST" thing for him to do.
Again, though: none of any of it likely changes anything.