WATCH: Ridiculous Anthony Richardson high school highlight goes viral

On3 imageby:Ashton Pollard09/17/21

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Ahead of Saturday’s Top-25 matchup between the Florida Gators and Alabama Crimson Tide, an insane highlight of Florida quarterback Anthony Richardson has resurfaced. 

In the video from his freshman year of high school, 6-foot-4 Richardson, who played receiver before switching to quarterback following an injury to the starter, made a one-handed, Odell Beckham Jr.-like catch on a high pass. 

Richardson is a local product; he attended Eastside High School less than five miles from Florida’s campus. He was a four-star recruit rated the No. 9 dual-threat quarterback in the 2020 class and the No. 30 player in the state of Florida by 247Sports. Richardson was the first quarterback from within city limits to sign with Florida since Chris Stephens did it in 1999. 

After committing to Florida early in 2019, Richardson decommitted from the Gators and was heavily considering Penn State, among other big FBS programs. Obviously, he ultimately flipped back to Florida head coach Dan Mullen.

Richardson was featured in Season 4 of the Netflix documentary “QB1: Beyond the Lights” during his senior season. The series follows star quarterbacks as they transition from high school to college, and past quarterbacks have included former Georgia quarterback Jake Fromm and former Georgia and Ohio State quarterback Justin Fields.

Richardson is already making history at Florida

Florida quarterback Emory Jones was the presumed heir to former quarterback Kyle Trask’s throne after Trask departed for the NFL. But over Florida’s first two games, Richardson has outplayed Jones. While Mullen has said he does not intend to switch starters for now, Richardson will receive a sizable portion of the snaps against Alabama just as he has against FAU and USF. 

Richardson is Florida’s leading rusher this season with 11 carries for 275 yards and two touchdowns. He is averaging 25 yards per carry. He made history last weekend when he became the first FBS player in 25 years to rush for over 100 yards, pass for 150 yards and complete every pass he threw in Florida’s 42-20 win over USF. His performance drew comparisons to Florida legend Tim Tebow.

Alabama is a heavy favorite (-14.5), but dual-threat quarterbacks have given the Crimson Tide issues in the past. Alabama leads the series all-time 26-14, and they have won the last seven meetings. The last time Florida beat Alabama was the 2008 SEC Championship when the Gators had Tebow under center and went on to beat Oklahoma for the national championship.