Billy Napier says Anthony Richardson 'flipped the switch' against Tennessee

Although it came in defeat, Anthony Richardson had a career day throwing the football against Tennessee. It was a very welcome sight after Florida had struggled in the passing game during the three weeks of their season. While watching him during the week and in the game, Billy Napier says he saw firsthand why things changed for Richardson.

Napier broke down Richardson’s performance during media on Monday. He said his young quarterback was great in the week leading up to their trip to Knoxville. On top of that, he felt as if the game lent itself to Richardson succeeding through the air compared to their other three matchups.

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“He had probably his best week of practice. I thought he was really tuned in to the preparation throughout the week,” said Napier. “I think the matchup was different, right? We played South Florida and we could turn around and hand the ball off pretty consistently. And maybe he wasn’t in the groove if that makes sense. But we knew going into (Tennessee) that we were going to give him the ball and let him go play. And we’ll continue to do that. It’s just part of him being a young player.”

Richardson threw for 453 yards, which blew his previous best of 168 out of the water, as well as two touchdowns. He found success in the run game with two scores as well, but his passing stole the show. While it wasn’t necessarily efficient with a 54.5% completion rate, he went throw for throw with one of the SEC’s best passers in Hendon Hooker until the very end.

Napier highlighted Richardon’s competitiveness as another reason that he found success. He saw his QB shut out everything and did whatever he could to almost drag his team to a win.

“I think the big thing for him is I saw him kind of flip the switch as a competitor and really just get consumed with, ‘Hey, this is my team. I’m gonna take my team and we’re gonna beat your team. I’m gonna do everything I can do to help my teammates and our team win.’ Just competing and not really worrying about anything else, what anybody thinks, how things are going,” said Napier. “What is the next decision I need to make to help the team win? I think ultimately that’s where I saw a little bit of growth from him.”

That acceptance of the moment is a great next step for Richardson to make. After an up-and-down start to the year, he locked in and nearly got Florida a Top-15 road win in conference play. While they did lose that game in the end, Napier couldn’t have been more pleased with Richardson’s performance. It’s the kind of game that answered a lot of questions and can be a foundation for him as the Gators continue their season next weekend.

“He was enjoying it, right? I mean he was embracing it. He was in his element which I think that’s, as a player, how the game is supposed to be played. That’s why it’s fun to play,” Napier said. “I’m proud of Anthony. There’s a lot of noise and all that. You can get caught up in that but he didn’t. He really showed up and did his job for the team.”