Spring Review: Anthony Richardson led the way at quarterback

by Bob Redman, aka “Hollywood Bob”

A week-plus removed from the end of the first spring practice sessions under Florida head coach Billy Napier we have had some time to reflect on just what we saw and heard of the Gators and the different positions on the roster. Our first reflection on the team will be at the quarterback position where the spring game certainly should have opened up a lot of eyes for both those that follow Florida and will be taking on the Gators in the fall.

The conclusion of spring and the Orange and Blue Game wasn’t the last bit of real news as shortly after the Thursday night under the lights, redshirt freshman Carlos Del Rio-Wilson decided he would enter his name into the transfer portal and push to transfer from the program. With a unit that isn’t particularly loaded with numbers, losing a signal caller can be a pretty big deal. The loss hurts in the sense that he seemed to be making strides as the spring progressed. There was however a gap between the top two in Anthony Richardson and Jack Miller and then Del Rio-Wilson and Jalen Kitna.

Throughout the spring there was a definite pecking order in the top two as well. Sophomore Anthony Richardson led the way for most of every practice in the spring. We saw Richardson at his best at the beginning of the 2021 season and that was when he could use all of his physical tools. He possesses a cannon of an arm, but when you add the running dimension to his game he is a different animal altogether

Injuries plagued Richardson last season and at the end of the year he had some corrective surgery. The healing process forced him to miss any chance of throwing the ball before spring. Most of the reports I heard from the spring were of Richardson struggling with consistency throwing the ball. The big time throws were there at times, and at others he was off. Add in the fact that the quarterbacks couldn’t be tackled and that meant his running wasn’t really much of a factor for most of the spring as well.

But the spring game pretty much threw all those worries about throwing the ball out the window. What we saw on April 14 was Richardson being really efficient with the ball. There actually weren’t any of those big time throws, but he was hitting his targets in stride and he was hitting them when they came open. He really seemed to know the offense and hit the right reads. In the first half of the game and against the first defense, Richardson was 13-for-15 for 167 yards and two touchdowns throwing the ball. In a new offense that kind of efficiency is pretty dang good.

“I think Anthony is a production of a lot of hard work,” new Florida head coach Billy Napier said after the spring game. “I can’t say enough. His approach has been first class. When I think about a quarterback we think about a person who represents everything of what the organization is about. Certainly at the highest level of football the quarterback is the face of the organization. They set the greatest example with their work ethic, their attention to detail, their self-discipline, their approach. He’s a product of his work. He’s learning a new system. He communicated well and the ball went where it was supposed to go. The players around him played well. The pocket was clean. Guys [caught] the ball. It was a good day. To win, you need good quarterback play.”

While Richardson looked like he had played in the offense for years in the spring game, he had to go through a lot in the 15 practices to get to that point.

“I can’t really say it was easy,” Richardson said. “I feel some of the plays I’m not that familiar with, that comfortable with. It’s kind of hard to say it was easy. It’s just a matter of my extra work on your own, getting in with the coaches and doing some things like that. I feel like if you put in the work and the time and the effort, then you’ll catch onto it pretty fast.”

Running the second team offense against the second defense, Miller didn’t fare as well. He finished the game 13-for-23 for 123 yards and an interception. Most of all of his passes were in the short field, so he really didn’t show off his deep ball ability. I had heard that he actually had good days throwing the ball deep this spring, but it didn’t show up in the game. It does appear that there is still that gap in between him and Richardson.

Miller believes he did get a lot done this spring.

“I feel like I’ve gotten better, for sure,” he said. “Especially the past month, and I’m going to continue to get better and work hard every day.”

He expects him and Richardson to be really ready for the fall.

“We both had pretty good springs I want to say,” Miller continued. “We’ll both be ready to play.”

Kitna played at the end of the spring game and his outing wasn’t much. He finished 0-for-3 and with an interception in the contest and it seems that he is clearly behind the other two at this point.

In summary, Richardson seems to have the ability they are looking for at the position and he sits atop the depth chart heading into the fall. If he can show the same poise in the pocket and the ability to see the field like he did in the spring game, combined with his real running ability, the offense will be in really good hands. He has to stay healthy which is what a lot of outsiders are worried about. Miller doesn’t have the same physical abilities and would be more of a game manager in the offense if he was called on in the fall. The Gators will also add to the quarterback room in the fall when freshman Max Brown arrives on campus, but he will be behind the others in knowing the offense.