Anthony Richardson, Gators look to bounce back against Bulls

GAINESVILLE, Fla. — After opening the 2022 season against a former top-10 team and current one, the Gators face their first unranked opponent of the year tonight in South Florida.

Despite being favored by 24.5 points, UF coach Billy Napier and his players have insisted this week they’re not taking their next opponent lightly, especially coming off the Kentucky loss.

“I don’t care who we play,” Napier said. “We are consumed with improving, to be more efficient at how we do things right, and I think that’s where we’re at, independent of who we play.”

No. 18 Florida (1-1, 0-1 SEC) has some familiarity with the Bulls (1-1), who suffered a 50-21 loss to BYU in their opener before last Saturday’s 42-20 win over Howard and former UF assistant coach Larry Scott.

South Florida is led by third-year coach Jeff Scott, who coached with Napier for three seasons at Clemson from 2008-10. Napier credited him for upgrading USF’s roster with transfers, including former Baylor starting quarterback Gerry Bohanon.

“Jeff’s a bright young coach, and his team is playing extremely hard. You can see the effort. You can see the toughness, the week 1 to 2 improvement, certainly some of the changes they made on the staff from a defensive standpoint,” Napier said. “Jeff’s growing that program up, and certainly you can see it on the film.

“Tons of respect for what he’s doing and how they’re doing it. They’ve got some really good players. I think there’s probably 15 transfers in the two deep to go along with a lot of really good returning players here. So, there will be a lot of challenges that come with playing South Florida.”

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This is just the third meeting between UF and USF and the second in The Swamp. The two teams played last season in Tampa and the Gators totaled 666 yards of offense (sixth-most all-time) in their 42-20 win. Scott has already noticed Napier’s stamp on Florida through two games.

“Overall, they look very disciplined to me,” Scott said. “They believe in what they’re doing. Fundamentally, it doesn’t matter if it’s a backside tight end that’s not involved with the play. He’s doing his job like the game depends on it. Billy’s a very fundamental coach. He believes in fundamentals and techniques and playing hard.

“Then offensively, you definitely can see his stamp and the things that he likes to do and move guys around. I think that shows up a lot. … I know and have known that they’re explosive on offense. They’ve got a lot of weapons there. The quarterback’s an incredible, phenomenal athlete and really can score at any moment.”

Florida quarterback Anthony Richardson had a breakout game against the Bulls last season, throwing for 152 yards and two scores, including a 75-yard touchdown pass, and rushing four times for 115 yards with 80-yard TD run.

Richardson will be looking for a bounce-back performance Saturday after throwing two interceptions and struggling mentally in Florida’s loss to the Wildcats.

“I think it’s part of being a young player. It’s part of being a guy who’s not very experienced,” Napier said. “That’s reality here. Anthony’s a young player. He’s getting his first opportunity to be the guy. I just think this is part of the story. This is part of his growth. And he’ll use that. This guy’s a competitor. He’s motivated, and I think he’s going to take full advantage of the experience he’s had, both good and bad so far.”

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While Scott is well aware of Richardson’s talent, what has impressed him most about the 2022 Gators on film in their defense. He thinks the unit has a chance to be “elite” under co-defensive coordinators Patrick Toney and Sean Spencer, particularly at Spencer’s position.

“I would say that the biggest thing that stands out right now is their defense,” Scott said. “They’re really, really good up front. You look at both Utah and Kentucky that had to leave extra guys to help that offensive line and chip those defensive ends. When they didn’t, the quarterback got hit. I think that stands out pretty quick.

“Their defensive line, in my opinion, is elite. I believe this’ll be the best D-line that we’ve played in the two and a half years that I’ve been here, just watching the video. They’ve got a bunch of guys. A lot of depth. And they’ve got a bunch of future NFL players over there on their defensive line. That’s something that really stands out.”

The biggest concern for Florida heading into this matchup is the absence of veteran linebacker Ventrell Miller, who is out with a lower leg injury. He is a sixth-year senior and the leader of the defense, and UF has to replace him in the starting lineup with redshirt freshman Scooby Williams.

Napier admits the Gators will miss Miller’s vocal presence on the field.

“The big challenge here is the ability to process quickly and communicate. When I think about replacing Ventrell, I’m immediately thinking about replacing the communicator,” he said. “We talk about communication. We want to do it early, loud, and often. We want to do it clearly, concisely, and with confidence.

“That’s the big challenge for those linebackers is to be as good of a communicator as Ventrell was. There’s a component to that position that affects that entire group. I know they are working extremely hard, and I think they’re excited about the opportunity.”