Florida Gators Football

University of Florida head football coach Billy Napier loved what he saw out of quarterback Anthony Richardson on Saturday in the Gators' 29-26 upset win over the seventh-ranked Utah Utes.

According to ESPN's Andrea Adelson, Napier said the following about Richardson's spectacular performance:

"My wife could call plays with that guy at quarterback. His legs, they're a difference maker. You saw it tonight. The fourth-down play, in the last drive. The 2-point conversion, I mean, come on. He did that exact same thing in practice one day. I'm talking about the exact scenario. I think we're figuring out here that this guy's a pretty special player."

After rushing for two- and 45-yard touchdowns in the first half, Richardson helped give the Gators a three-point lead early in the fourth quarter after a 14-yard touchdown run by Montrell Johnson Jr.

Richardson made several defenders miss on a two-point conversion attempt before finding Ja'Quavion Fraziars in the end zone.

Utah went back on top 26-22 with 6:26 remaining in the game, but Richardson delivered the knockout blow with 1:25 left when he punched the ball in from one yard out.

All told, Richardson completed 17 of his 24 passing attempts for 168 yards with no touchdowns or interceptions, while rushing for 106 yards and three scores on 11 carries.

In addition to affirmation from his new coach, several college football analysts and experts heaped praise on Richardson after watching him lead the Gators to one of their biggest wins in the past few years:

Richardson played somewhat sparingly as a redshirt freshman last season, attempting just 64 passes and throwing for 529 yards, six touchdowns and five interceptions, but he showed off his explosiveness as a runner with 401 yards and three touchdowns on only 51 carries.

On Saturday, Richardson led Florida to a win over a team with College Football Playoff aspirations and likely launched the Gators well into the Associated Press Top 25.

Richardson will have another test on his hands next Saturday when Florida hosts a No. 20 Kentucky team that beat Miami (Ohio) 37-13 this week on the strength of 303 yards and three touchdowns from quarterback and potential 2023 first-round NFL draft pick Will Levis.

If Richardson can turn in a repeat performance against the Wildcats, the Gators will likely be firmly established as defending national champion Georgia's biggest competition in the SEC East.

Georgia football coach Kirby Smart wants to see the annual rivalry game against Florida played on the campuses of the two schools rather than a neutral field.

"I just can't get a Florida coach to agree with me about [moving the game]," Smart said Wednesday on SEC Network at SEC media days.

The battle of SEC East foes started in 1915 and has been mostly played at a neutral site in Jacksonville, Florida, since 1933. There was a brief switch to a home-and-home format, with the 1994 game played in Gainesville, Florida, and the 1995 game in Athens, Georgia, but it returned to Jacksonville the next year and every season since.

The teams are scheduled to play at TIAA Bank Field in Jacksonville on Oct. 29, and the Jacksonville City Council approved an extension to keep the contest there through at least 2023.

Despite the consistency of the location, Smart argues its a disadvantage for both teams because NCAA rules prevent hosting recruits at neutral sites:

I'm competing against [coaches] all across the SEC, who host recruits at their biggest games. When Auburn plays at Alabama, guess where the recruits are? When LSU and Alabama play, that's where the biggest recruits want to go. It's an opportunity for us to bring these kids, who fly in from all over the country - what game do they want to come see Georgia play? They'd like to see Georgia play Florida, but they can't do that.

It's very important. Recruiting is very important.

Smart has been at Georgia since 2016 and has a 4-2 record against the Gators, including wins in four of the last five years.

He was still clearly unable to convince former Florida coaches Dan Mullen or Jim McElwain to make changes to the biggest rivalry on the schedule. The pleas will continue to Billy Napier, but the new Gators coach needs time to make his decision.

"I want to experience the game first," Napier said Wednesday. "I'd like to see that game in Jacksonville, experience that game, before I have an opinion on it. There's a lot of credibility to both [arguments]. The home-and-home obviously would be fantastic, but there's also some tradition there. There's a rivalry there. Time will tell."

It's not uncommon for rivalry games to take place at neutral stadiums. The Red River Showdown between Texas and Oklahoma is always played at the Cotton Bowl, while the Army-Navy game rotates to different neutral locations.

Smart still wants to see a change, which would add another high-profile home game every other year.

Florida Gators quarterback Anthony Richardson wrote Sunday that he will no longer be using the "AR-15" nickname and branding because of the wave of mass shootings in the United States.

The AR-15 and other semi-automatic rifle types were used in "at least six of the 14 mass shootings this year in which four or more victims died, according to the Gun Violence Archive," per Ashley R. Williams of USA Today.

Richardson, 21, split time with Emory Jones as a redshirt freshman last season, throwing for 529 yards, six touchdowns and five interceptions while completing 59.4 percent of his passes across seven games. He also rushed for 401 yards and three scores.

With Jones now at Arizona State, however, the starting gig is Richardson's alone, and expectations are high.

In June, ESPN's Jordan Reid named Richardson the No. 5 quarterback prospect to know in the 2023 NFL draft, noting that he has a "stocky and sturdy build, and despite a loopy arm motion, the ball comes off his hand with plenty of energy. But he also understands when and how to put touch on his passes. And with his downhill rushing ability and vision as a ball carrier, he can be an extension of the running game."

The other quarterbacks on that list including Ohio State's C.J. Stroud, Alabama's Bryce Young—who is the defending Heisman Trophy winner—Miami's Tyler Van Dyke and Kentucky's Will Levis.

While Richardson's potential is high, there are enough question marks surrounding him in his first year as a full-time starter that PFF's Anthony Treash ranked him as the No. 30 quarterback overall in college football heading into the 2022 campaign.

Richardson will have to prove he's worth the hype, in other words. He'll be doing so with a new nickname this season.

Former Florida Gators quarterback Emory Jones is reportedly transferring to Arizona State. 

Jones, who has two years of eligibility remaining, will be immediately eligible in 2022, ESPN's Pete Thamel added. 

Jones spent four seasons at the University of Florida but didn't become the team's starter until the 2021 campaign. He waited behind Feleipe Franks and Kyle Trask before finally getting his shot after beating out Anthony Richardson for the QB1 role.

In 13 games last season, he completed 64.7 percent of his passes for 2,734 yards and 19 touchdowns against 13 interceptions. He also rushed for 759 yards and four scores and had a receiving touchdown.

Jones was not expected to be Florida's starter in 2022 as Richardson recovered from a knee procedure to take part in offseason practices. Richardson appeared to be winning the QB battle, hence why Jones likely entered the transfer portal.

Jones announced his decision to enter the transfer portal in March, and he visited Arizona State last month. 

The Sun Devils began to pursue quarterbacks this offseason after losing Jayden Daniels to LSU.

Jones was a four-star recruit out of Franklin, Georgia, and the No. 5 dual-threat quarterback in the 2018 class, according to 247Sports Composite rankings. He sat behind the likes of now-Chicago Bears quarterback Justin Fields.

The 22-year-old ended up choosing Florida over offers from schools such as Alabama, Florida State, Ohio State and Auburn. 

Jones will now get a fresh start with the Sun Devils, who finished 8-5 last season under fourth-year head coach Herm Edwards. The team also played in the Las Vegas Bowl but lost 20-13 to Wisconsin. 

Florida Gators quarterback Anthony Richardson is scheduled to appear in traffic court May 25 after receiving a ticket for driving more than 100 mph in a 60 mph zone, according to a traffic ticket obtained by The Gainesville Sun (h/t USA Today). 

A sheriff's deputy pulled Richardson over April 4 after clocking him driving over the speed limit. No one else was in the car with him at the time of the incident. 

Richardson appeared in seven games for the Gators last season, completing 38 of 64 passes for 529 yards, six touchdowns and five interceptions. He also rushed for 401 yards and three scores. 

The 20-year-old is set to take the reins of the Florida offense in 2022 after Emory Jones announced last month he would be entering the transfer portal. As the Gators' starter last season, Jones completed 64.7 percent of his passes for 2,734 yards and 19 touchdowns against 13 interceptions. He also rushed for 759 yards and four scores. 

Richardson participated in Florida's annual spring game Thursday night and completed 18 of 24 passes for 207 yards and two touchdowns. He also ran for 22 yards and a score. 

After the game, Florida head coach Billy Napier lauded Richardson for the work he has put in this offseason to prepare for the 2022 campaign. 

Napier said, per Thomas Goldkamp of 247Sports:

I think Anthony is a production of a lot of hard work. I can’t say enough. His approach has been first class. When I think about a quarterback we think about a person who represents everything of what the organization is about. Certainly at the highest level of football the quarterback is the face of the organization They set the greatest example with their work ethic, their attention to detail, their self-discipline, their approach.

The Gators will be looking to qualify for a fifth straight bowl game in 2022. 

Jacksonville Jaguars running back Travis Etienne won't be too far from his younger brother next year.

During Saturday's Army All-American Bowl game, Trevor Etienne announced his commitment to the Florida Gators. A 4-star running back on 247Sports, Etienne chose Florida over LSU and his older brother's alma mater Clemson.

"It’s just something new," Etienne told 247Sports' Steve Wiltfong of his decision not to follow his brother to Clemson, where Travis was an All-American and national champion. "It’s something new I get to experience and somewhere I can see myself for the next three to four years of my life."

A 5'9", 218-pound speedster out of Jennings High School in Louisiana, Etienne is the No. 15 running back in 247Sports' composite rankings. He rushed for 2,455 yards and 34 touchdowns in his high school career.

Etienne told Wiltfong that new Gators head coach Billy Napier was a major factor in his decision. He revealed he was a silent commit to Florida but felt some uncertainty when Dan Mullen was fired during this season. Etienne was a fan of Napier and his coaching staff during their time at the University of Louisiana, making it a good fit for him.

"I was worried not knowing who they were going to get," Etienne said. "When they said it was Coach Napier that was mind-blowing really and I was excited because that was somebody I want to be coached by. When he got the job I text him that. He was excited."

Florida went 6-7 in 2021 and finished sixth in the SEC East. Etienne said he wants to be a part of restoring the Gators to prominence.

"I like what Coach Napier is doing and his vision for the program," he said. "I see myself being able to help them become a better place and that’s something I want to see myself be part of."

Former Ohio State quarterback Jack Miller committed to Florida on Tuesday.

Miller will fill the void in the Gators' quarterback room left by Emory Jones, who entered the transfer portal. The Arizona native went 7-of-14 for 101 yards in mop-up duty for OSU during the 2021 season.

The redshirt freshman was a 4-star recruit and the No. 13 pro-style quarterback in the 2020 class, per 247Sports' composite rankings.

Had he stayed with the Buckeyes, Miller would've seen his path to the starting job blocked by Heisman Trophy finalist C.J. Stroud and Kyle McCord in 2022. The Buckeyes already had former No. 1 overall recruit Quinn Ewers transfer to Texas for presumably the same reason.

Miller's situation in Columbus was complicated by his November arrest for operating a vehicle while impaired. He subsequently pleaded guilty to reckless operation, a misdemeanor.

In terms of playing time, Miller will probably have little in the way of guarantees since Anthony Richardson isn't going anywhere.

The freshman had Florida fans demanding he be named the starter after throwing for 192 yards and two touchdowns and running for 275 yards and two touchdowns in the team's first two games.

Former head coach Dan Mullen looked a bit more justified for taking a cautious approach with the 6'4" signal-caller when the Gators lost 34-7 to Georgia on Oct. 30. 

Inside the final three minutes of the first half, Richardson committed three turnovers (two interceptions and one fumble) that Georgia turned into 21 points to take a commanding 24-0 lead.

A meniscus injury will keep him out for Thursday's Gasparilla Bowl against UCF, eliminating the chance for him to end 2021 on a high note.

With the experience he gained this year, Richardson should be better next season. Any advantage he might've had over Miller in terms of continuity is probably nonexistent, though, since the offense could look a lot different under new coach Billy Napier.

The pro-style QB's transfer will likely make that position battle one of the more closely followed when spring practices begin.