Gators Victory Over Aggies Marked a 'Pivotal Day' for QB Anthony Richardson

Billy Napier believes Florida's win over Texas A&M marked a "turning point" in Gators quarterback Anthony Richardson's career.

Photo: Anthony Richardson; Credit: Alex Shepherd 

COLLEGE STATION, Texas -- It's been a volatile season for Florida quarterback Anthony Richardson. He threw for 453 yards to keep UF in the game against now-No. 2 Tennessee, compared to just 66 in his next SEC matchup against currently 4-5 Missouri.

Richardson also turned the ball over in each of Florida's first six games.

He hasn't since. 

Richardson kept the ball away from the opposition against a now-top 15 team in LSU, the No. 1 squad in the land in Georgia and again on the road when the Gators defeated the Texas A&M Aggies by a score of 41-24 on Saturday afternoon. 

“It feels great," Richardson exclaimed about his lack of turnovers after the win. "A lot of those things is [me] just doing my job. Just trusting everyone else and trusting them to do their job."

The collective effort of job-doing allowed Florida to march down the field early and often, as the Gators accumulated 188 total yards of offense and 17 points in the first 15 minutes of play. Richardson's primary source of production at that point was on the ground, as he compiled three rushes for 81 yards and UF's two touchdowns to begin the game.

It wasn't just Richardson's legs that got Florida's offense going, though. When Florida needed him to win the game with his arm, he did just that, and the collective effort continued to pay off.

From the second quarter on, Richardson went 13-of-23 for 153 yards and two scores, each to typical backup receivers in sophomore Ja'Quavion Fraziars and true freshman Caleb Douglas who collaboratively filled in for the injured Justin Shorter in Week 10. 

From start to finish, 12 of Richardson's 28 passes resulted in either first downs or touchdowns. Seven of his 17 completions resulted in big gains of 15-to-23 yards, a lot of chunk plays that either set up or ended in scores.

“I told Anthony there late in the game — Anthony’s going to play this game for a long time," head coach Billy Napier explained. "And I think he’ll look back and I think this will be one of those days where he’ll say, this was a pivotal day — playing with confidence. Thought he started fast [and was] really thorough in his prep during the week."

Richardson's improvement has been evident over his last three games aside from the lack of turnovers. He's rather consistently produced scoring drives when Florida's needed them, tossed nearly half of his nine touchdowns on the season and compiled as many 200-yard games in the last two contests of the campaign as he did in the first seven.

He's also developed leadership qualities and displayed them on Saturday, lending credence to Napier's assessment that Saturday could be a turning point in his career, in Richardson's opinion.

"[Napier] was telling me this was going to help me play in the future. All week I've just been working on my leadership, just trying to hold guys together and just keep the team pushing. Allowing us to come out there and play fast, play strong," Richardson shared. "But he told me this was going to be a turning point of my career in my life. I kind of see that, because I think I'm getting back with my leadership. So, that's kind of something I want to keep improving on, and that's pretty much what he touched up on."

It goes back to what Napier has said about Richardson practically since the two began to work together earlier this year: He's needed time to develop, and he's developing in front of everyone's eyes.

"He’s a 20-year-old first-year starter in a new system," said Napier. "Again, I think Anthony’s problems aren’t physical. I think it’s about development, it’s about getting comfortable with a role, being a leader, being vocal, improving as a communicator, playing as a competitor and playing for your teammates - taking yours and beating theirs.

"I just really think today was a big step in the right direction for him.” 

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