Anthony Richardson responds to those criticizing him for Florida's 2022 record

For Bryce Young and CJ Stroud, they will be coming out of school with College Football Playoff experience under their belt. Attending Alabama and Ohio State, the duo won a ton of games as the starting quarterback. Not everybody can say that even a prospect as highly thought of as Anthony Richardson.

Florida did not have the best season in 2022, breaking in a new head coach with Billy Napier. Richardson was the guy at QB as the Gators finished 5-7. When asked for his response to critics saying the below .500 record should be a red flag for Richardson, he said not everybody understood the work put in.

“A lot of people see that record and think we weren’t a good team,” Richardson said during an appearance on The Rich Eisen Show. “A lot of people see the record and say ‘oh, Anthony Richardson can’t lead a team. He can’t even go .500 in the season.’ To that, I just say they don’t know the ins and outs of the game, they don’t understand what they go through daily, understand how hard we work.

“Sometimes, things don’t go your way and that comes with the game. I feel like when I step onto a team, I’m there to contribute, give it my all, and provide in any way I can. I feel like I did that every game.”

Lessons do have to be learned by everyone involved after a losing season. For Richardson, a coach speak answer with some expansion was given. He believes just doing your job is the way to go, wanting to make simple plays on a consistent basis once getting into the NFL.

“Control what I can control,” Richardson said. “It’s not little league football anymore where I can just bully ball anybody. I can’t just run around everybody. So, I learned how to manage the game. Especially as a quarterback — I can’t try to make every big play. I just got to take what the game gives me.”

There will be time for Richardson to continue to learn these lessons, being viewed as a project quarterback — at least from the outside.

Richardson saw his draft stock soar after the NFL Combine, showing off his incredible athletic ability in front of scouts, coaches, and general managers. Some team is going to draft him early on Thursday night, investing in the future of the Florida quarterback.