Anthony Richardson briefly removes mentions of Florida from social media

Florida head coach Dan Mullen said that freshman quarterback Anthony Richardson was unable to play tonight 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.

After a draining 24-23 overtime loss to Missouri, which saw the Tigers clinch their first bowl berth since 2018, more questions regarding Mullen’s future at the helm surfaced. A tumultuous season has only gotten worse; Florida fell to 5-5 and will now play Florida State, with the winner clinching eligibility for a bowl game.

Richardson, a four-star member of Florida’s class of 2020, has shown glimpses of potential in his redshirt sophomore season, utilizing both his accurate arm and immense athleticism. Last season, as a true freshman, Richarson took a redshirt year after appearing in just three games, completing one of his two passes for a touchdown and an interception; this year, things have been much different. Many expected Jones to man the starting role all year, but after he struggled early on, Richardson was thrust into his first in-game action in Florida’s first game of the year. He completed three of eight passes in that contest against FAU, good for 40 passing yards, but more impressively he had seven carries for 160 yards and a rushing score.

Overall, in six appearances, Richardson has completed 57.9 percent of his passes for 474 passing yards, five touchdowns and five interceptions, while rushing 40 times for 374 yards — averaging 9.4 yards per carry — and three touchdowns.