Anthony Richardson giving back to the community that raised him

On3 imageby:Nick de la Torre•04/16/22•

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Anthony Richardson may have been born in Miami, but he grew up in Gainesville. Raised in the shadow of Ben Hill Griffin Stadium.

Richardson remembers watching those larger-than-life figures run out of the tunnel and play on Saturday. He wanted to be them. He wanted to meet them. Whether they knew it or not, they were idols to Gator fans and kids in town like him.

When he started playing for Eastside High School, Richardson found a former Gator whose words impacted him then and still do now.

“Cornelius Ingram. He coaches for Hawthorne,” Richardson said of Ingram, who was a star quarterback for the Hornets before his UF and NFL career. “He’s mainly the one that I’ve been in contact with because we used to play Hawthorne.”

“I’ve seen him. He talked about me and told me I was going to be one of the next greats. From that point forward, I told him I’d try to maintain that and keep it going.”

Raising money for ‘Aim for a Cause’

This past February, Richardson received a call from a friend. His father is the principal at Gainesville Country Day School, which was hosting an event called “Aim For A Cause” with the goal of raising money for pediatric cancer research.

Richardson didn’t hesitate or think twice about getting involved. He was all in.

“I said of course,” Richardson told Gators Online. “I know when I was younger, I always wanted people to come and talk to us and hang out. And I know how much that impacted me.”

Richardson spent several hours with the kids at the school — staying longer than he needed to. He answered questions from the children. What does he like to do off the field? His answer of playing Fortnite was a hit. His favorite NFL player? Cam Newton.

“I went out there to see their smiles and their faces and see how happy they are, it brings me joy. It makes me happy,” Richardson said. “Just to think that I have an impact on people like that.”

Richardson has future plans in the community

Seeing those smiles and giving back is taking a hold of the Florida Gators quarterback. Richardson has been planning to host a football camp for local kids.

“I’ve been thinking about it for about a year or two now,” Richardson told Gators Online. “I want to open up and do a camp for the kids and doing service. Have fun with them and try to teach them the fundamentals of the game. Just try to help them take the next step forward in life.” 

Richardson doesn’t have to do these things. He’s QB1 at UF and a full-time student. That takes up a lot of time. He’s not doing it to make money. There’s a sense of obligation he feels towards the community that helped raise him.

“Being from Gainesville, I don’t say I have to do these things but I feel an obligation to do these things,” Richardson told Gators Online. “Gainesville has helped me become who I am. Why not try to give back while I can?”

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