Gators QB Anthony Richardson Declares for NFL Draft

Florida's Anthony Richardson will enter the 2023 NFL Draft as a third-year sophomore after one season as the Gators' starting quarterback.

Photo: Anthony Richardson; Credit: Alex Shepherd 

The growing expectation in recent weeks was confirmed on Monday when Florida Gators third-year sophomore quarterback Anthony Richardson declared for the 2023 NFL Draft, opting to forgo his remaining college eligibility and not take part in UF's appearance in the 2022 Las Vegas Bowl.

Richardson, a product of local Gainesville (Fla.) Eastside, enrolled at UF as a member of the Gators' 2020 recruiting class under former head coach Dan Mullen. 

He saw the field sparingly as a true freshman before taking on a more prominent role in the program leading into and throughout his redshirt freshman 2021 season. Richardson earned the No. 15 jersey prior to fall camp, making him to first scholarship quarterback to don the number for Florida since Gator Great Tim Tebow in the late 2000s.

However, Richardson began the campaign as a backup to Emory Jones, Mullen's first quarterback signing as UF's head coach. While Jones struggled to string together consistent performances, Richardson saw his snaps increase and earned his first-career start against the No. 1 Georgia Bulldogs in Oct. 2021.

The year was derailed by several injuries, though, as a hamstring wound limited his availability near the beginning of the season, a concussion removed him from the Georgia game, and a torn meniscus suffered against Florida State sidelined Richardson from the Gasparilla Bowl until the beginning of 2022 fall camp. 

After two years of development and a full recovery from surgery on his knee, Richardson became Florida's full-time starting quarterback for head coach Billy Napier's first season immediately, taking first-team reps in practice every day this year.

While he experienced plenty of ups and downs along the way — he paired two games of 400+ passing yards and six games of three or more total touchdowns with four games with a final completion percentage of 50.0 or lower — Richardson displayed enough promise to continue warranting significant interest from pro teams. 

His reported 4.4-second 40-yard dash time contributed aplenty to his stellar rushing production (654 yards, nine touchdowns), and while his accuracy and decision-making were inconsistent at times, Richardson arguably produced more highlight-worthy throws than any college quarterback in the nation in 2022.

Like this one.

ANTHONY RICHARDSON IS BOX OFFICE 🤯 pic.twitter.com/65NhVdGl7Z

— PFF College (@PFF_College) September 4, 2022

And this one.

This angle on Anthony Richardson's latest TD pass🔥

pic.twitter.com/Zen5eIQ5Hu

— PFF College (@PFF_College) November 5, 2022

Oh, and don't forget this one from before the season.

Air It Out competition at the Manning Passing Academy

Anthony Richardson has an absolute cannon.. #MPA pic.twitter.com/hRKcsjEyKO

— Taylor McHargue (@TMcHargue16) June 25, 2022

Richardson finishes his UF career with 24 appearances and 13 starts, accumulating 3,105 passing yards, 24 touchdowns and 15 interceptions with a completion percentage of 54.7. He added 1,116 yards and 12 touchdowns on the ground at 6.9 yards per rush.

Florida will move forward with rising redshirt junior Jack Miller III and rising redshirt freshman Max Brown on scholarship at quarterback. The Gators also possess the commitment of elite 2023 signal-caller Jaden Rashada. 

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