Mike Ridaught
Former Eastside Athletic Director Philip Crutchfield and I were watching last night’s NFL Draft together.
Crutchfield was at Eastside when Anthony Richardson was a star on the rise.
He remembered when Richardson burst onto the scene as a wide receiver in a preseason contest against Palatka, showing me a video of his promising potential.
“We knew he was special when he was a freshman,” Crutchfield said. “On an ill-advised throw into triple coverage, Richardson leaped above three defenders and one-handed the ball Odell Beckham-style to move the chains.”
The video was submitted to MaxPreps and it was selected as the national high school football highlight of the week.
The viral clip started a snowball of big-time offers for Richardson, who realized his dream of playing professional football when his name was called on Thursday night.
Last night, the former Eastside (Gainesville) and University of Florida quarterback was selected fourth overall by the Indianapolis Colts in the 2023 NFL Draft.
Richardson explained the reason for his tears when interviewed on the NFL Network.
“I knew it was going to be emotional for me because I always dreamed of this,” he said. “When I got the call, it just hit me. It really hit me deep that I finally made it to this level. Now I’ve got to keep working to be the best. I’m going to be a dynamic player for the franchise. I’m going to work hard and be a leader.”
Indianapolis head coach Shane Steichen said one thing stood out about Richardson.
“His character – the vetting process that we did, calling around people that know him, that have been around him, that’s a big part of this thing,” Steichen said. “There are a lot of guys that I know that I trust that I talked to about him and everything was, you know, right at the top of the list as far as that (character). Then, just going through having him here, getting to know him as a person, talking football with him, I think he’s got a chance to be a really good player in this league.”
That’s how Colts General Manager Chris Ballard, Steichen and the Colts became sold on Richardson.
Meanwhile, his path to the NFL began years ago while wearing the green and orange.
Richardson won the starting quarterback job midway through his freshman season at Eastside.
Among some of his biggest games as a Ram were five touchdowns and 348 yards passing in a home win against Newberry as a sophomore, and six touchdowns against Lake Weir (Ocala) on Homecoming as a junior in a 62-27 win, finishing with 241 yards through the air and an additional 157 on the ground.
“It’s wonderful to see Anthony achieve his dream of being a first-round draft pick,” Crutchfield said. “He’s an inspiration and a blueprint for young boys growing up in Gainesville. Anthony has always carried himself with a humble demeanor regardless of his success on the field. I’m proud of him and for his family.”
Cedderick Daniels, who was the head coach of the Rams all four seasons that Richardson was at Eastside, was in Kansas City for the draft to support his former player.
“This moment is huge for our city but very big for Eastside and East Gainesville,” Daniels said. “What you have is a kid who never quit working on his craft to get to this moment. He has shown kids that if you work hard in the classroom and in your sport that a dream can come true.”
After coming into UF as freshman during COVID-19 “he had only played right around 200 plays prior to this past season and only started one game,” said Florida football coach Billy Napier.
“First year starter, new offensive system, new staff, not only for him but all of the people around him,” Napier said on The Blitz on NFL Radio SiriusXM on April 25. “You’re talking about a guy who is not a very experienced player. But, this guy may be the most physically talented football player I’ve ever been around. He showed that in Indianapolis. Generational talent and I think the upside here, because of the character, intelligence and the physical traits. This guy just needs continuity, he needs reps and the sky’s the limit.”
Richardson, who started all 12 regular-season games last year with the Gators, finished his UF career with 3,105 passing yards with 24 passing touchdowns in three seasons.
He was named to the All-SEC Freshman Team in 2021 after rushing for a career-high 1,116 yards and 12 touchdowns.
According to UF, of his 36 career scores, he had seven scores of 70-plus, 14 scores of 40-plus and 16 of 25-plus yards. Richardson ran for three touchdowns of 70-plus, four of 60-plus and five of 45 yards. In the air, he completed four 70-plus-yard, nine 40-yard, 10 30-yard and 11 25-yard TDs.
While the freakish athlete struggled at times with his passing accuracy (53.8%), Napier has faith in his former QB.
“Although he is a unique athlete, I think the arm talent, the accuracy, the ability to throw all different types of throws in the pocket, on the move. At some point in his career, he’s going to have to make his living being a passer,” Napier said on Fitz and Harry on ESPN Radio on April 26.
Napier said Richardson made the decision to forego his final two seasons and declare for the NFL draft following a conversation the two had about whether or not Richardson was ready for the NFL.
“One of the things I respected about Anthony is he went through a really exhaustive process to gather as much information as he can and make an educated decision,” Napier said on The Blitz on NFL Radio SiriusXM. “He waited on the advisory committee and he got great information across the board. A lot of different opinions. But, ultimately, 10 out of 32 teams gave him a first-round grade. He had confidence he could move into the first round and if you can get into the first round it’s hard to pass up that opportunity.”
Gainesville has really made a name for itself this year with ultra-talented, dual-threat quarterbacks. In December, Buchholz quarterback Creed Whittemore became the first player in Alachua County history to win the Mr. Football Award.
Richardson, who became the highest-drafted Gainesville high school player ever, is now second all-time in the area in top five picks behind Union County’s (Lake Butler) Gerard Warren, who was selected third overall by the Cleveland Browns in the 2001 NFL Draft.
4th Overall Florida Notes:
- Second UF player to be drafted No. 4 (other was Kyle Pitts in 2021)
- Tied for second-highest Gator draft pick of all-time (highest is No. 3 overall with the last being Dante Fowler Jr. in 2015)
- Sixth Florida player to be drafted in the top four
- Second highest Florida QB drafted (Highest is Steve Spurrier in 1967 at No. 3)
- First SEC QB drafted No. 4 (fourth QB drafted No. 4 — last was Phillip Rivers in 2004)
First Round Notes:
- 55th Gator to be drafted in the first round since 1967 (Second most in the SEC — Alabama leads with 56 and Tennessee is in third at 40)
- Fifth most in the NCAA (Ohio State leads with 79)
- Fifth Gator QB to be drafted in the first round (Tim Tebow in 2010, Rex Grossman in 2003, John Reaves in 1972 and Steve Spurrier in 1967)
- Fourth-straight year a Gator has been drafted in the first round (Kaiir Elam in 2022, Kyle Pitts in 2021, Kadarius Toney in 2021, C.J. Henderson in 2020 — Longest streak since Gators had six consecutive years from 2015-18)
- 27th Gator to be drafted in the first round since 2000 (tied second most in the SEC and fourth most in the NCAA– Alabama leads the NCAA with 44)
- 18th in the first round since 2010 (tied second-most in the SEC behind Alabama’s 41 and third-most in NCAA behind Alabama’s 41 and Ohio State’s 22).
- 11th Gator in the first round since 2015 (tied for third-most in the SEC with LSU with Alabama leading at 26 and tied fifth-most in the NCAA)
- Fifth Gator in the first round since 2020 (fourth most in the SEC with Alabama leading at 13)
Overall Draft Notes:
- 277th draft pick since 1967 (eighth most in the NCAA with USC leading at 353 and leads the SEC ahead of Alabama at No. 2 with 268)
- Maintains Florida’s streak of a draft pick in every NFL draft since 1967 (Florida entered Thursday as one of three schools to achieve that mark with Michigan and Nebraska)
- 129th draft pick since 2000 (third-most in SEC with Alabama leading at 140 and fifth-most in NCAA with Ohio State leading at 158)
- 79th draft pick since 2010 (fifth-most in the NCAA with Alabama leading at 104 and fourth-most in SEC)
- Ninth Florida quarterback to be drafted (Last since Kyle Trask in 2021)
Gators Drafted by Indianapolis Colts
1. Shawn Davis, Round 5 in 2021
2. Quincy Wilson, Round 2, 2017
3. Antonio Morrison, Round 4 in 2016
4. Mike Peterson, Round 2 in 1999
5. Ellis Johnson, Round 1 in 1995
6. Tony McCoy, Round 3 in 1992
7. Michael Brandon, Round 12 in 1992
8. Stacey Simmons, Round 4 in 1990
The Colts will surely regret this decision. Of all the information above there is not one mention of the real success that Richardson had on the field. He did not make it through as a success even one season in college. For the most part, he was a highly touted failure. His inaccurate passes were legendary and never led to a successful season. Despite his enviable attributes of speed and size, he was never able to put it together, physically and particularly not mentally. Within two years, he may be slated as a third back up or out of the NFL entirely . Richardson has been and likely will be a huge bust in the NFL. Just an over paid and overhyped waste of time and money.