Napier discusses Richardson's draft decision, progress at QB

GAINESVILLE, Fla. — Following his first season as Florida’s starting quarterback, Anthony Richardson is forgoing his remaining eligibility and declaring for the 2023 NFL Draft.

Richardson entered 2022 with first-round projections and was able to maintain his draft stock throughout the fall despite some early-season struggles and a nagging ankle injury.

Richardson was the only FBS quarterback with two 400-yard passing games and two 100-yard rushing games this year. He ranks sixth among FBS QBs with 6.3 yards per carry.

In Richardson’s final six career games, he had 16 total touchdowns (12 passing) and just two turnovers. During that stretch, he went four straight games without an interception.

“I thought he made a ton of progress,” Gators coach Billy Napier said of Richardson. “Most importantly I think as a person, comfort with the role, you know, the leadership aspect. And certainly, I thought he made a lot of progress when it comes to football intelligence and defensive structure, protections. And really, as a first-year starter, increased his value, right? To a point where, you know, the feedback was really positive about maybe where he’s projected.

“Those are really tough decisions on the player, the family, obviously all involved. We tried to get Anthony as much information as possible. He was an absolute pro. And it’s one of those gray area decisions and I think Anthony sees an opportunity. He’s going to work extremely hard to solidify his position in the draft, and he did a lot for the Gators, man. Certainly, proud of him as a person and the way he went about his business and represented this place.”

Richardson opened the season with a three-touchdown performance to beat Utah, but then had back-to-back games with two interceptions, no scores and under 150 passing yards. After playing poorly against Kentucky and USF, Richardson had to refocus his mindset and regain his confidence.

“Going back to the Kentucky game, just talking to my teammates and my coaches and telling me I need to just go back to having fun and just being myself,” Richardson said. “Just thinking hard about that and understanding where I kind of veered off from that, it kind of put it in perspective and made me understand how much pressure I was putting on myself instead of just being in the moment, living in the moment.

“I was trying to live up to other people’s standards. That was one thing. And I always remember this, staying true to my heart. My old QB coach in high school, he always told me before every game, ‘A happy Ant is a dangerous Ant.’ So just me being happy and enjoying life, I’m dangerous whenever things do happen.”

Richardson exploded in his first career road start at Tennessee, scoring four touchdowns and producing the most total yards (515) by a Florida quarterback in an SEC game in program history.

Richardson finished 2022 with 2,549 yards on 53.8 percent passing with 17 touchdowns and nine interceptions. He added 654 rushing yards and nine additional scores.

Richardson was one of three FBS quarterbacks with over 2,500 passing yards and 650 rushing yards, along with LSU’s Jayden Daniels and North Carolina’s Drake Maye.

ESPN’s NFL Draft guru Mel Kiper, Jr. discussed the challenges of evaluating Richardson as an NFL quarterback prospect Thursday night on SportsCenter.

“I’ve been all over the place,” Kiper said. “The Utah game, after that game I think he’s got a chance to be the No. 1 pick, top 5 pick. And then, the inaccuracy throwing the football. He’s been missing layups. Easy throws. That’s mechanical. That can be worked out. Certainly, the talent, the physical ability, the arm strength. Great running skills.

“Fifty-four percent completion percentage. He’s gotta fix that. That’s gotta be up to 63 [percent]. That’s gonna take some time. That’s what he needs now. Sit, watch, and learn. Fix the issue in terms of developing more accuracy. The talent is there. He’s a guy — the old cliche is he can either make your draft or break your heart. He’s boom-or-bust. That’s Anthony Richardson.”