Florida QB Anthony Richardson talks future with Gators

Florida redshirt freshman Anthony Richardson provided quite a spark in the Gators’ win over Florida State on Saturday. With such a great performance came questions about his future in Gainesville.

It was Emory Jones’ show in Florida with Dan Mullen at the helm, and that continued with interim coach Greg Knox in charge on Saturday. But Jones tweaked his ankle, which opened the door for Richardson to come in.

He made the most of the opportunity, too, completing 5 of 7 passes for 55 yards and a touchdown in the air. Richardson also ran for 27 yards on 11 carries.

So, what’s the plan? Will he be back next year? He had three words when asked if he’ll come back, no matter who’s coaching next year.

“I’m a Gator,” Richardson said.

Playing high school in Gainesville with family here, Anthony Richardson is asked if he plans on staying at Florida regardless who the next coach is?
AR: "Yeah, I'm a Gator."
Does that mean you're going to be back next season?
AR: "I'm a Gator."

— G. Allan Taylor (@GAllanTaylor) November 27, 2021

Saturday was Richardson’s first action since Oct. 30 when the Gators fell to Georgia 34-7. In that game, he completed 12 of 20 passes for 82 yards, but threw two interceptions. On the ground, he had 12 carries for 27 yards.

Richardson suffered a concussion in that game, but was cleared to come back for Florida’s game against South Carolina. However, coach Dan Mullen later revealed he didn’t play in that matchup because he hurt his knee dancing in the team hotel.

He was a four-star recruit out of Gainesville and the No. 15 quarterback in the country from the Class of 2020, according to the On3 Consensus, a complete and equally weighted industry-generated average that utilizes all four major recruiting media companies.

Richardson held offers from some big names, including Georgia, Michigan and Penn State, on the recruiting trail.

Anthony Richardson briefly removes mentions of Florida from social media

Former Florida head coach Dan Mullen said that freshman quarterback Anthony Richardson was unable to play last week against Missouri due to a prior injury. But after a little reading between the lines, it seems like there may be another story to monitor.

In regards to Richarson’s status Saturday, Mullen said that Richardson was limited due to injuries.

“Anthony has been banged up, had more injuries at practice this week, so he was limited in his opportunity to practice,” Mullen said of Richardson, who hurt himself prior to the South Carolina game while dancing in the team hotel.

It’s unclear exactly how much Richardson’s injury healed and whether he felt comfortable playing Saturday. Regardless, Florida only utilized one quarterback in Saturday’s contest in Emory Jones, the season-opening starter who has since traded blows with Richardson in a quarterback competition of sorts. Jones finished with 20 completions in 32 attempts, good for 261 passing yards, coupled with 17 carries for 45 rushing yards.

After the game’s final whistle blew and Richardson did not see the field, he removed all mentions of the University of Florida from his Twitter account.

Anthony Richardson removed all things #Gators from the top of his Twitter profile. pic.twitter.com/FQLVCbycXl

— Zach Goodall (@zach_goodall) November 21, 2021

Perhaps Richardson was unhappy with his utilization — or lack thereof — in Columbia on Saturday, as Mullen ruled him out with injury and Florida proceeded to lose. Richardson later changed his Twitter bio back to what it was before, adding “Quarterback at The University of Florida” to his bio.