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Anthony Richardson on low hit by LSU: ‘It's been happening all year’

On3 imageby:Zach Abolverdi•10/17/22•

ZachAbolverdi

On3 image
Florida quarterback Anthony Richardson takes a low hit in the Eastern Washington game. (Photo by Joe Robbins/Icon Sportswire via Getty Images)

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Florida quarterback Anthony Richardson has been hit low multiple times this season, but it was called for the first time on Saturday.

On UF’s first drive of the second half, Richardson completed a 29-yard pass to Ricky Pearsall to put the Gators in LSU territory. Tigers safety Jay Ward blitzed on the play and was unblocked, getting a free shot at Richardson from his blind side.

As Ward closed in, he dove for Richardson’s legs and delivered a low hit to his left knee. Ward was immediately flagged for roughing the passer.

However, because there wasn’t forcible above-the-shoulder contact, Ward couldn’t be penalized for targeting and ejected from the game.

ESPN analyst and former Alabama quarterback Greg McElroy was disgusted by the hit.

“That’s a dirty play. I mean, it’s a dirty play. I don’t know how else to describe it. It’s uncalled for,” McElroy said during the broadcast. “To me as a quarterback, that’s no different than targeting. I understand he’s a big guy and he’s on the run, (but) you are hitting him in the knee. That to me is inexcusable. Should be a 30-yard penalty.”

The Gators didn’t even benefit from the penalty. The extra 15 yards wasn’t tacked onto the play because a personal foul on Richie Leonard IV offset Ward’s hit.

Fortunately for Richardson, he was able to keep playing in the game. He would later blow by Ward on his 81-yard touchdown run.

“I’m a big guy so people are going to try to take out my legs,” Richardson said. “In the moment, you don’t really realize that people are constantly going for the leg until you get hit. But it’s been happening all year.”

On his first pass against Kentucky, a 16-yard completion to Justin Shorter, Richardson took a low hit from Jalen Geiger as he threw the ball and limped to the line of scrimmage without putting pressure on his left foot.

Richardson said he was fine after the loss, but the injury scare had an impact on his play and his usage in the run game. He threw three straight incompletions after Geiger’s hit and finished with a season-low 4 rushing yards.

Richardson was also hit low against Eastern Washington by defensive lineman Brock Harrison, who went for his right ankle. He came up hobbling and had to go into the injury tent, leaving the game for a series as backup QB Jalen Kitna led the offense on a touchdown drive.

“I guess I’ve got to move a little better and not get hit,” Richardson said.

Or perhaps, the NCAA should modify the targeting penalty and apply the rule to contact above the shoulder or below the waist when it’s a low hit is on a quarterback.

The 2019 edition of the NCAA rulebook defined targeting as “taking aim at an opponent for purposes of attacking with forcible contact that goes beyond making a legal tackle or a legal block or playing the ball.”

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