Anthony Richardson shows off cannon arm at Manning Passing Academy
Confirmed: Anthony Richardson has a cannon for an arm. The Florida Gators quarterback showed it off Friday at the Manning Passing Academy.
Richadson is one of several elite college quarterbacks serving as a counselor for this year’s camp at Nicholls State University in Louisiana from June 23-26.
Friday featured the “Air It Out” competition between the quarterbacks, and AR-15 stole the show. On his rep, Richardson did a three-step drop and then let it fly.
From the 30-yard line, he effortlessly launched a deep ball that jumped off his hands and traveled over 70 yards in the air, drawing “oohs” and “ahhs” from the crowd.
“That was a long throw,” Manning said in reaction to Richardson’s bomb.
This weekend gives Richardson an opportunity to give back and learn from three legends, with NFL standouts Archie Manning, Peyton Manning and Eli all participating in their namesake event.
“Talking to the Manning’s, I just want to soak up everything I can,” Richardson said in the video below. “Be a better person, be a better quarterback, you know, just get as much knowledge as I can.
“And working with the younger guys, I just try to connect with them because I was once in their shoes. So just helping them and giving them advice on what to expect when things come up.”
Anthony Richardson discusses Billy Napier’s offense
After serving as a backup for most of last season, Richardson is now QB1 for the Gators following his stellar showing in the spring game. He threw for 207 yards and scored three total touchdowns.
More importantly, he looked comfortable in the new offense under first-year coach Billy Napier. Richardson studied former Louisiana QB Levi Lewis to get a feel for Napier’s system.
“Watching some of their games from last year, even hearing about Coach Napier and them considering him, I started watching some of the games just to see what was going to happen,” Richardson said this week. “And watching Levi play, that was their old quarterback, that put me in good hands because we have similar skill sets.
“I talked to coach Napier and coach Ryan O’Hara when they came in and they told me I was going to fit well in their offense. Then I went through spring, I think I do fit well in the offense so we’ll see how that goes.”
![Florida Gators head coach Billy Napier celebrates with Florida Gators wide receiver Aidan Mizell (11) after a touchdown during the first half at the Orange and Blue spring football game at Steve Spurrier Field at Ben Hill Griffin Stadium in Gainesville, FL on Saturday, April 13, 2024. [Matt Pendleton/Gainesville Sun]](https://on3static.com/cdn-cgi/image/height=215,width=393,quality=90,fit=cover,gravity=0.5x0.5/uploads/dev/assets/cms/2024/04/13155133/Untitled-design-65-2.png)