There wasn’t a clear timeline for Florida quarterback Anthony Richardson‘s return after he underwent knee surgery in December, causing him to miss the Gators’ loss to Central Florida in the Gasparilla Bowl. He said doctors didn’t expect him to be cleared to practice for months.
That wasn’t ideal for Richardson because it would likely put him behind in learning new coach Billy Napier‘s offense, hampering his efforts to earn the starting job over incumbent Emory Jones and transfer Jack Miller. However, on Monday the Gators’ medical staff cleared him to practice just in time for spring football, which started the following day.
That’s big news for Florida and Napier. Richardson won’t miss any time and will be able to receive some reps running the new offense, continuing his development while competing with Jones for the starting job.
“I thought 15 had a good day,” he said. “I was impressed with what I saw. His attitude has been good. I think he’s impressed me with how he retains information, his attention to detail. We didn’t get a chance to see him throw it in bowl practice because he was injured. It certainly comes out of his hand really well.”
Napier now understands why people believe that Richardson can be a good player.
Richardson said things felt normal now that he’s not sporting a bulky brace. He added that he missed more throws than he’d like to admit but understands repetition will repair the issue.
His development this spring will be something to watch because it’ll dictate how high the Gators’ ceiling is. Richardson should win the starting job because of his flashes of brilliance, like when he took over the LSU game last season.
However, he needs to hone in on his consistency. Richardson finished the 2021 season with a less than 60% completion rate, throwing for 529 yards, six touchdowns and five interceptions.
The Orange and Blue game on April 16 will be everyone’s first chance to gauge how much he has improved since the last time he played.
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