Anthony Richardson reveals confidence level in ability to check plays at line of scrimmage

If there’s one player in the country whose stock has been extremely volatile over the first three weeks of the season surely it’s the quarterback for No. 20 Florida. An elite athlete, to say the least, the third-year gunslinger has all the tools to be a top NFL Draft pick. But what about Anthony Richardson‘s confidence level?

The 6-foot-4, 232-pound prospect looked like a potential Heisman Trophy contender in a season-opening 29-26 win over No. 13 Utah.

In that game Richardson went 17-of-24 passing for 168 yards, while adding 11 carries for 106 yards and three rushing touchdowns. After the upset win, his Heisman Trophy odds skyrocketed to 18-1. Just two weeks later — following a loss to Kentucky at home and a narrow upset escape against USF — Richardson’s Heisman odds have plummeted all the way to 100-1.

Florida has opened as a 10.5-point underdog this weekend at No. 11 Tennessee.

If you ask Richardson, though, his confidence is just fine. As evidenced by some key plays he made Saturday in that 31-28 win over USF that might not show up in a box score.

“I feel like I’m growing, honestly,” Richardson said after the game.

Anthony Richardson’s confidence checking plays at line of scrimmage growing

One of the reasons Richardson and others near him in the Florida program aren’t hitting the panic button just yet is the signal-caller says he’s getting more comfortable reading defenses.

Easy example? A 62-yard touchdown run by Louisiana transfer Montrell Johnson in the second quarter of Saturday’s game. Richardson checked that one at the line of scrimmage after getting a look he liked.

“Just knowing what the defense is about to do and knowing what we want to do according to that defense,” said Richardson, outlining where he has grown as a quarterback. “We were talking about that all week, talking about it earlier (Saturday). If they did this we want to check to this. I was talking to Montrell, he was happy I checked into it because he saw himself.”

Ability to check plays at the line or not, Florida will need a better version of Richardson going forward.

He has yet to throw a touchdown pass this season for the Gators. Meanwhile, he’s been picked off four times. Since that fantastic outing against Utah? Richardson is just 24-of-53 (45.3%) passing for 255 yards. He’s only added 13 carries for 28 yards in those two games.

That may not get it done for the Gators, who are still learning their personnel in Year 1 of new coach Billy Napier‘s tenure.

Regardless, Richardson views his expanding knowledge of how to read defenses as a plus.

“Just being able to know the offense a little bit and just recognize the coverage a little bit, it helps when you’re trying to make plays,” he said.