Anthony Richardson

OVERVIEW

SUMMARY: A one-year starter whose 2022 season was a roller coaster ride as he completed only 53.8 percent of his passes. Dual-threat quarterback with total of 13 college starts. His tantalizing physical abilities will require a lot of work to get close to his potential. A combination of size, speed and arm strength makes it a challenge to find a comparable quarterback. He demanded attention after a workout at the Indianapolis Combine that was off the charts. At 6-4 1/4, 244, he ran 40 yards in 4.43 seconds and had jumps of 40.5 inches in the vertical and 10-teet, 9 inches in the broad.  Maybe former Ohio State QB Terrelle Pryor is close physically (6-4, 240, 4.38 seconds in 40 yards). Pryor holds the NFL record for longest run by a quarterback (93 yards), but eventually moved his athleticism to wide receiver. Richardson has a stronger arm and flicks the ball more than 60 yards effortlessly. His mechanics need a lot of work and is one reason he misses too many easy passes. His poor footwork can be corrected, but the challenge will be determining whether he can be at least a functionally accurate passer at the next level. Richardson’s arm is tremendous and he has the ability to reach areas beyond normal even in the NFL. His size, agility and speed will concern every defense when he decides to run. There is curiosity aplenty whether his over-the-top athletic ability can be harnessed in the NFL.

ANALYSIS

Strengths: Rare combination of size, strength and athleticism for a quarterback. Has ability to make explosive plays as a passer and a runner. Ran for touchdowns of 45, 60, 73, 80 and 81 yards over the past two seasons. Shows awareness of impending pressure and ability to move and buy time to keep play alive. Had touchdown-to-interception ratio of 12:2 over his final six games at Florida.

Weaknesses: Lack of proper mechanics, especially footwork, exacerbates his inconsistent accuracy at all levels. It is especially noticeable when he misses far too many easy connections to open receivers on short and medium throws. Fires the fastball too often, so he needs to acquire touch. All young quarterbacks must learn to read NFL defenses. Richardson was asked to read the entire field in college and avoided throwing interceptions quite well. Had far too many bad plays, not necessarily due to error in judgment but because he couldn't hit the target.  

FRANKLY: Somebody might turn this athlete into a quarterback, but I'm not a believer. Seems to lack the instinct or intuition that builds confidence in teammates. There are at least four quarterback prospects I would take this year before rolling the dice on Richardson. But somebody will roll the dice and it will be interesting to see what happens.

STATS

YEAR (GP/GS)   CP-ATT          CP%   YDS      TD   INT          CAR   YDS    AVG   TD

2020: (4/0)         1-2                  50.0     27           1       1           7          61       8.7      0

2021: (8/1)         38-64             59.4    529        6       5          51       401     7.9      3

2022: (12/12)   176-327         53.8    2,549    17     9         103     654    6.3      9

Total: (24/13)    215-393         54.7    3,105      24     15       161     1,116  6.9         12

HISTORY — From College Profile

Academic Honors: SEC Fall Academic Honor Roll (2022)

2022 (Sophomore): Started all 12 games…Led the team in all quarterback offensive categories… Finished with 2,549 passing yards and 17 touchdowns for an average of 212.42 yards per game…Second on the team in rushing touchdowns (9) and third in rushing yards (654)...Posted back-to-back games with three touchdown passes, including one of 52 and 43-yards at Florida State (Nov. 25)... Tied career-high with three passing touchdowns while throwing for 400 passing yards on 25 completions with a TD pass of 74 yards at Vanderbilt (Nov. 19)... Totaled three touchdowns ( two passing and one rushing with 11 completions for 112 yards and 96 rushing yards vs. South Carolina (Nov. 12)… Accounted for four total touchdowns (2 passing and 2 rushing) highlighted by a 60-yard rushing score to finish with 93 yards on the ground and was 17-28 with 201 yards passing at Texas A&M (Nov. 5).… Logged 18 completions for 271 yards with a career-long 78-yard touchdown pass vs. No. 1 Georgia (Oct. 29), tying for the 11th-longest pass play since 1996 in program history… Combined for 294 yards (185 passing and 109 rushing) of offense against LSU (Oct. 15) with 15 completions, one passing (51 yards) touchdown and a rushing score of 81 yards, setting the longest by a UF QB and the program’s third-longest TD rush since 1996… Finished 8 for 14 in the air with 66 yards and a touchdown pass with 45 yards on the ground in five attempts against Missouri (Oct. 8)... Was 8 for 10 for 240 yards and two touchdown passes, including one on the Gators’ first offensive play, also had a rush of 45 yards vs. Eastern Washington (Oct. 2)... Totaled 515 yards of offense at No. 11 Tennessee (Sept. 24), ranking third all-time in a game in program history…Completed 24 passes for 453 yards and two touchdowns while running for 67 yards and two scores, marking the first Florida quarterback to pass for 450-plus yards and two-plus passing touchdowns while rushing for 50-plus yards and two-plus rushing touchdowns in a single game… Completed 10 passes for 112 yards with 24 yards on the ground vs. USF (Sept. 17)... Threw for 143 yards on 14 completions against No. Kentucky (Sept. 10)... Started second career game vs. No. 7 Utah (Sept. 3), rushing for a career-high three touchdowns and completing 17-24 for career-best 168 yards to be named the season’s first SEC Offensive Player of the Week and Davey O'Brien Award Quarterback of the Week.

2021 (Redshirt Freshman): Made his first career start at quarterback against Georgia (Oct. 30)… Appeared in eight games this season… Completed 5-7 passes for 55 yards and a touchdown and rushed for 27 yards on 11 carries against Florida State (Nov. 27)… Completed 12-of-20 passes for a total of 82 yards and rushed for a total of 26 yards on 12 attempts against Georgia… Completed 10-of-19 passes for a total of 167 yards and three touchdowns and rushed for a total of 37 yards and one touchdown on 7 attempts against LSU (Oct. 16)… Completed 4-of-6 passes for a total of 25 yards and rushed for a total of 11 yards on five attempts against Vanderbilt (Oct. 9)… Completed 1-of-1 passes for a total of eight passing yards and rushed a total of 25 yards on five attempts against Kentucky (Oct. 2)… Logged 115 yards and a touchdown on four rushing attempts and completed 3-of-3 passes for a total of 152 yards and two touchdowns against South Florida (Sept. 11)… Recorded 160 rushing yards on seven carries and completed 3-of-8 passes for a total of 40 yards, in addition to scoring his first-career rushing touchdown on a career-best 73-yards run, during Florida’s season opener against Florida Atlantic (Sept. 4). 

2020 (Freshman): Appeared in four games ... Made collegiate debut vs. Missouri (Oct. 31) and ran for 15 yards on three rushes. .. Went 1-2 for 27 yards and one touchdown ... Totaled 61 yards on seven carries... Threw a touchdown pass against Oklahoma (Dec. 30) in the Cotton Bowl ... Redshirted.

BEFORE FLORIDA / PERSONAL

2019 Elite 11 finalist … Finished his four-year varsity career at Eastside with 4,633 passing yards and 37 touchdowns, along with 1,633 rushing yards and 41 touchdowns … Led Eastside to a 7-4 record and a berth in the FHSAA Class 5A State Playoffs in 2018 … Before his senior season ended due to injury, he threw for 1,398 yards and eight touchdowns (with just one interception), and had seven rushing touchdowns … As a junior in 2018, he threw for 1,567 yards and 17 touchdowns, and ran for 924 yards and 16 touchdowns… Scored 13 rushing touchdowns and threw for another 10 as a sophomore in 2017… Also played varsity basketball at Eastside in 2017-18 and 2018-19, averaging 10.5 points (with a 53 percent field goal percentage) and 7.5 rebounds per game as a junior … Featured on the Netflix series QB1: Beyond The Lights this past fall.

 

2022

passing
ATT	YPA	PCT	YDS	INT	TD	COMPLETIONS
327.0	7.8	0.538	2549.0	9.0	17.0	176.0

rushing
YPC	TD	YDS	CAR	LONG
6.3	9.0	654.0	103.0	81.0

fumbles
REC	LOST	FUM
0.0	2.0	3.0

defensive
TFL	QB HUR	TOT	TD	PD	SACKS	SOLO
0.0	0.0	3.0	0.0	0.0	0.0	3.0

2021

passing
ATT	YPA	PCT	YDS	INT	TD	COMPLETIONS
64.0	8.3	0.594	529.0	5.0	6.0	38.0

rushing
YPC	TD	YDS	CAR	LONG
7.9	3.0	401.0	51.0	80.0

fumbles
REC	LOST	FUM
0.0	1.0	2.0

defensive
TFL	QB HUR	TOT	TD	PD	SACKS	SOLO
0.0	0.0	1.0	0.0	0.0	0.0	1.0

2020

passing
ATT	YPA	PCT	YDS	INT	TD	COMPLETIONS
2.0	13.5	0.5	27.0	1.0	1.0	1.0

rushing
YPC	TD	YDS	CAR	LONG
8.7	0.0	61.0	7.0	28.0

fumbles
REC	LOST	FUM
0.0	0.0	1.0