Anthony Richardson addresses areas of improvement, managing expectations

Ahead of his sophomore season, Florida’s Anthony Richardson was invited to the Manning Passing Academy down in Thibodaux, Louisiana this weekend. The Gainesville native proved to be one of the more explosive players in the country last season. He finished his redshirt freshman season with 930 yards and nine total touchdowns. Due to nagging injuries and Emory Jones playing as the Gator’s starter, though, he appeared in only seven games.

After healing from surgery and Jones’ transfer to Arizona State, Richardson has a clear path to starting this fall. Early projections have him tabbed as a potential Heisman candidate and a high NFL Draft pick in 2023. With these new expectations on his shoulders, Richardson spoke on how he’ll strive to carry them this season.

“I try not to think about it too much. I’ll just try to control what I can control. I can’t control the hype, I can only just go out there and play and try to stay healthy,” said Richardson. “That’s pretty much my mindset for this year, just staying healthy and just staying on the field so I can perform like they want me to perform.”

One area of improvement will be in the passing game. He excelled far more as a rusher than he did as a passer. Richardson attempted just 64 passes compared to 51 rushes last season. If he wants to grasp the job for himself, he’ll need to show he’s an all-around player at the position.

“Just being a great quarterback and a great leader to my team, somebody that Coach Napier can trust, somebody that my teammates can trust,” said Richardson on how he plans to improve. “Be the person that they can count on whenever things aren’t rolling how they’re supposed to be. Just being that guy, a leader and a great quarterback too.”

Billy Napier will rely heavily on Richardson to lead his new program this fall. What he picks up in the passing game, especially at the event this weekend, will be crucial for the Gator’s success this fall.