Florida Gators not surprised by Anthony Richardson's combine performance

On3 imageby:Nick de la Torre•03/14/23•

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GAINESVILLE, Fla. — Anthony Richardson was made for an event like the NFL Combine. Standing at 6-4 and 244 pounds, he looks like a linebacker but has one of the best arms in the draft. The Florida Gators quarterback is one of the most intriguing prospects in the 2023 class and Indianapolis would be a very public job interview for the 21-year-old.

Richardson crushed the combine. He broke the record for quarterbacks with a 40.5″ vertical and a 10’9″ broad jump. His 4.43 40-yard dash was the fourth fastest for a quarterback in Combine history. While the performance turned Anthony Richardson into a trending topic on Twitter, and surprised NFL fans who don’t follow the Gators, it was just another day at the office.

“I ain’t gonna lie, none of it (surprised me),” cornerback Jaydon Hill said.

“When Ant first came in, we used to do like pick-up basketball. We had a dunk contest one time, and this Ant, like, first couple months on campus, he did like a 360 windmill I think. I was like ‘Ooooh’, so right then and there I was like ‘Yeah, he a freak’, so. None of the numbers he put up surprised me, it’s just surprising to everyone else, but none of us here.”

Richardson impressed off the field as well

Richardson had impressed even before his eye-popping on-field numbers. Reports out of Indianapolis were that he knocked it out of the park n interviews and formal meetings with teams.

“The thing I’m really proud of is the interview process,” Billy Napier said. “I think he’s really made, I know in our year together, he made tremendous progress relative to his understanding of the overall picture. It’s good to see all that paying off.”

Richardson’s draft stock continues to rise thanks to his seemingly limitless potential. The Combine is a measure of athletic skill. It’s mostly what we see on television, but the meetings behind closed doors potentially have an even greater impact on where a prospect will be drafted.

What would the team that drafts AR get?

Richardson was on the Rich Eisen Show and the host asked him what teams would get if they were to draft him.

“They’re definitely going to get a hard-working guy. A lot of people still say I have a lot of things to fix and work on, but I’m willing to do anything [for a team] that picks me up,” Richardson told Rich Eisen. “I’m willing to work hard, be in there early mornings, late night, whenever I need to be. I will be the best version of myself so I can provide the team in any way, shape, and form that I can.”

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