Tag: Anthony Richardson

Florida football’s offensive identity is changing to fit the team’s talent

Florida’s rushing attack proved themselves last night behind Malik Davis and Anthony Richardson.

Florida isn’t the same pass-heavy team they were a year ago with Kyle Trask and Kyle Pitts. In Saturday’s 25-14 win over Florida Atlantic, the new-look offense came out and ran up and down Ben Hill Griffin Stadium.

The Gators amassed 400 yards rushing, breaking the team’s previous record of 369 yards on the ground in a season opener. Florida hasn’t produced that many rushing yards in a game since September of 2011. In fact, the Gators have only eclipsed that rushing total three times in the last 25 years.

Quarterback Anthony Richardson led the team with 160 yards on just seven carries, one of which was a 73-yard touchdown run. Starting running back Malik Davis joined Richardson in the 100-yard club with 104 over 14 carries.

It’s clear that the offense will lean more heavily on the run this year after seeing the team in action on Saturday. Davis doesn’t mind the extra responsibility, though.

“I’m definitely excited,” Davis said. “Because I’m a running back, but also because it opens up doors and opportunities for other guys. If teams know that we can run the ball a lot, it opens up plays for passes down the field.”

Gators coach Dan Mullen was reluctant to call his team a run-first team but acknowledged that the team’s strengths were on the ground against FAU.

“We’ve done it before,” Mullen said. “We are going to do what our guys do well, that’s what it is. Honestly, I would love to continue to be balanced. We ran it a bit more than we threw today, 46 runs and 35 passes, but some of those were scrambles too. I think you’re able to stay balanced, but our explosive plays came on the ground and so we got to look at that a little bit.

“Are we taking the shots down the field to be explosive in the pass game as well? We’re going to do what we’re going to do, if we need to lead the nation in rushing, we’ll do that. We are going to do what our guys do well.”

After Richardson’s emergence led to Florida putting up the most rushing yards so far in the Dan Mullen era, it’s safe to say that the thing the team does best right now is running the ball.

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LOOK: Florida’s Anthony Richardson hurdles FAU defender

Anthony Richardson looked like a video game character for Florida against FAU.

The big question following Florida’s 35-14 victory against Florida Atlantic is who the quarterback will be after Anthony Richardson put on a highlight performance.

Richardson made a few video-game plays on his way to 160 yards rushing and he saved the best for last with a hurdle over an FAU defensive back. What makes Richardson’s performance all the more impressive is that he did it on just seven carries.

The backup QB came in for starter Emory Jones in the fourth quarter and finished out the game for Florida. He led the team into the endzone on two straight drives, including a 73-yard touchdown run.

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Don’t sleep on Florida quarterback Anthony Richardson this fall

Florida fans should be thrilled that coach Dan Mullen is comfortable with Emory Jones or Anthony Richardson under center this season.

Dan Mullen likes to treat his quarterbacks delicately. He lets them soak up information from the sideline and gives them glimpses of action through their first couple of years on campus. Quarterback Anthony Richardson may only be a redshirt freshman, but Mullen has spent a good amount of time hyping up his play during fall camp. He went out of his way to point out that the local Gainesville native played well during the first scrimmage.

“They’re different,” he said about the quarterbacks after the first scrimmage. “Nobody asked about Anthony. Anthony is doing an unbelievable job. Anthony had a huge night last night. Did really well, made a lot of great decisions. Very accurate. I think he threw three touchdown passes. Obviously is a dynamic runner as well, making good decisions. I feel very comfortable with both guys, which is a good thing.”

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The other quarterback he is referring to is redshirt junior quarterback Emory Jones. He is still considered a virtual lock to be the starter this season. However, Florida fans should be thrilled that Mullen feels comfortable throwing him in there if Jones struggles or get hurts.

“I think he looks great. I think he’s prepared himself to be the starter, which is what you want, you know?” Mullen said Monday, according to Swamp247. “He’s going to be ready to get on the field in just about any situation that it is. Now it’s our job to kind of put him in the different situations so that he has that experience in every different possible scenario for when he is on the field.”

Regardless though, Richardson should see some snaps this season because Mullen gave Jones some snaps throughout his first three years on campus.

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This Florida scholarship QB to wear No. 15 for first time since Tim Tebow

With receiver Jacob Copeland moving to No. 1, the door was opened for the quarterback to take over the number worn by Tim Tebow.

For the first time since Tim Tebow roamed about the Florida locker room, a scholarship quarterback will be wearing his hallowed No. 15 jersey. Redshirt freshman quarterback Anthony Richardson, a Gainesville native and graduate of Eastside High School, will switch to Tebow’s former number in 2021 after wearing No. 2, the jersey he’s worn throughout his entire career, in 2020.

A number of defensive and skill-position players, as well as non-scholarship quarterbacks, have worn No. 15 since Tebow’s departure following the 2009 season, but no scholarship passer has chosen to invite the comparison — that is, until now.

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“I’ve worn No. 2 since little league, through middle school, high school, 2 has always been my number,” Richardson told AllGators on Wednesday. “But the fans encouraged it and I was thinking, ‘why not do it?’ It’s great for marketing and getting the fans involved.

“It’s an honor to even be able to wear this number at the position since Tebow had it. I know, with this number comes great responsibilities and I have to live up to that standard, so why not try to achieve that?”

The number was previously occupied by receiver Jacob Copeland, but on Wednesday it was also announced that Copeland would be taking over the No. 1 jersey that Kadarius Toney wore in 2020.

Since coach Dan Mullen was hired in 2018, the No. 1 jersey has been awarded to one of the top players on offense and defense. With Copeland receiving the offensive honor for the 2021 season, it opened the door for Richardson to make a change as well.

Richardson saw action in four games as a true freshman, going 1 for 2 through the air for 27 yards and a touchdown to go with 61 yards on seven carries on the ground. He enters 2021 as the likely backup to fourth-year quarterback Emory Jones, but with four remaining years of eligibility, he should be a major part of UF’s plans for the future.

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Here are five Florida redshirt freshmen to watch in 2021

GatorCountry made a list of five Gators redshirt freshmen to look out for in 2021. Here’s our take on each one.

It’s difficult for true freshmen to enter a Power Five program like Florida and make an immediate impact. Many of these players need a year to adjust to the sheer talent difference between high school and college football. After that redshirt season, many of these former recruits grab a spot in the rotation or find themselves as a starter.

However, for Florida players, it’s not uncommon for these players to still barely see significant snaps. Coach Dan Mullen and his coaching staff have a tendency to value seniority and experience more than other programs across the college football landscape.

Ethan Hughes of GatorCountry made a list of five Gators redshirt freshmen to look out for in 2021. Here’s Gators Wire’s take on each one.

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WATCH: Mullen talks about Emory Jones and quarterback run packages

Florida Gators head coach Dan Mullen spoke with the media on Monday about backup QB Emory Jones’ absence as well as quarterback strategies.

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The Gators’ offense executed well once again on Saturday despite a loss to Texas A&M on Saturday. But in that game it was missing a component of its offense, as backup quarterback Emory Jones, who spells Kyle Trask with a wildcat, run-first package, wasn’t available.

Talking to the media on Monday, Florida coach Dan Mullen said having the option to run packages for Jones makes it harder for defenses to prepare.

“I think one thing Emory does in coming up is, like changing the running back, he brings a little different perspective to the position, and even running some of the plays he’s going to be a little bit different,” he said. “Obviously the quarterback run that I alluded to earlier, when he is in there, it does draw up very, very nicely, and the personnel fits it very nicely as well, so that’s just another thing for the defense to have to defend and have to prepare for of finding where the guys are out on the field.”

Mullen also hinted that there are more packages for Jones that the team hasn’t gotten to yet. He said there are packages that include both Jones and Trask, and even ones the team ran in camp that also include third-string quarterback Anthony Richardson in addition to Trask and Jones.

“I haven’t even gotten to our two-quarterbacks-on-the-field package yet, or we did have one in training camp where we had three quarterbacks on the field in one deal, but haven’t got to that yet, not that I want to give away all our secrets,” Mullen said. “But, no, I think when you’re utilizing personnel in different ways, it certainly puts and adds pressure to the defense of how they’re going to match up against those different people.”

Mullen was coy when asked about specifics, of course.

“I’m not going to tell you where they’re all going to be, but it is interesting to figure out who’s out there. I mean obviously one of them will take the snap, but you don’t know where everybody else might be, so.”

Though Trask has solidified himself as one of the best passers in college football, Mullen clearly thinks that by forcing opponents to prepare for more than one quarterback, the Gators will be more successful.

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2020 Gators Football Recruiting Profile: Anthony Richardson

This is a prospect player profile for dual-threat quarterback Anthony Richardson of the Florida Gators football recruiting class of 2020.

Name: Anthony Richardson

Position: Dual-Threat Quarterback

Height: 6’4″

Weight: 224 lbs

Hometown: Gainesville, Fla.

High School: Eastside High School

Twitter: @GVOaant

247Sports Composite: ⭐⭐⭐⭐

Rivals.com: ⭐⭐⭐⭐

Overview:

Playing his high school football in Gainesville for the Eastside Rams, Richardson’s electric combination of arm strength and mobility earned him a four-star rating from the 247Sports Composite, which also named him the No. 9 dual-threat quarterback in the 2020 class.

A four-year contributor for the Rams, he totaled 6,266 yards (4,633 passing, 1,633 rushing) and 78 touchdowns (41 rushing, 37 passing) during his prep career. As a senior, he threw for 1,398 yards and eight scores, while adding another 151 yards and seven trips to the end zone on the ground, before his campaign was cut short by a right (throwing) shoulder injury after just six games.

Committing well before his senior season began, on April 6, 2019, Richardson does not appear to have any lingering effects from this wound, as he signed his National Letter of Intent (LOI) during the Early Signing Period on December 18 and enrolled early enough to participate in Florida’s Capital One Orange Bowl practices, a game in which they defeated the Virginia Cavaliers, 36-28.

Interestingly, Richardson spent his final year of high school being followed by a camera crew for the Netflix series “QB1: Beyond the Lights.”

Entering the 2020 season, the local product projects to be the third quarterback on the Gators’ depth chart, behind redshirt senior Kyle Trask and redshirt sophomore Emory Jones.

Considered a raw prospect by many, the cancellation of spring practices because of the coronavirus (COVID-19) pandemic was not an event that would seem to favor Richardson’s development, but he has all the tools to star for the program in the next couple of years.

Following the exhaustion of Trask’s collegiate eligibility, the 2021 quarterback battle is already shaping up to be mighty interesting.

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