BATON ROUGE, La. — I've got a confession to make. Perhaps longtime readers or Twitter followers have noticed, but I tend not to get overly excited in any single moment by what happens on the field.
Maybe that's my personality, maybe that's my age, maybe that's a byproduct of documenting sports from prep basketball games to dramatic Stanley Cup playoffs over the years. Probably a pinch of them all.
Sure, there are jump-out-of-your-seat plays, there are really good plays, and then there are the routine plays that make up most of the moments in the Gators games we watch on Saturdays. My confession: I got really excited by a throw Anthony Richardson made in Saturday's 49-42 shootout loss at LSU.
I didn't use a series of exclamation points to describe it on Twitter, but I didn't let it pass without a comment: Damn, what a throw. After that, I stood up in the press box at Tiger Stadium and raced over to my colleague Chris Harry to make sure he had a similar view.
If memory serves correct, I said something profound like, "Man, that was a hell of a throw," before quickly turning around and walking back to my seat.
Richardson, Florida's redshirt freshman quarterback who has been a fan favorite all season, tossed a hot dart to Jacob Copeland for a 33-yard touchdown in the fourth quarter Saturday, tying the game at 42-all with 9:14 left. It's the kind of throw that prompts coaches to rave about "arm talent" and a quarterback's "ability to stretch the field."
After Florida's disappointing loss, one that essentially ended any hope of the Gators repeating as Southeastern Conference East Division champions or a fourth consecutive New Year's Six Bowl berth, Richardson took questions from the media on a Zoom call.
More on that later.
Before Richardson headed to the team bus, I asked him specifically what he thought of the throw, prefacing it by revealing my favorable impression.
"I feel like it was a good throw. We scored,'' he said. "I was a little nervous when it was in the air because I thought I was kind of late on the read, but Cope came down with it, so I was happy."
Richardson is not one to wax poetic about his accomplishments, so no surprise in his matter-of-fact reply.
What made the throw so impressive in these eyes, beyond the game situation and Richardson's dynamic impact in the second half, was that he threw it into a steady wind that was blowing in his face from the north end zone at approximately 15 mph.
He was aware of the extra LSU defender when he dropped back to pass.
"Considering that, I knew I had to put a little 'oomph' into it,'' he said. "Also, him running that fast and me kind of getting back to it kind of late, I knew I had to throw it hard to give him a chance."
Richardson is that special breed of player that makes the fan in all of us ponder the possibilities. Could Emory Jones have made that throw? From what we've seen, yes. Jones has a strong arm, too.
Still, after what transpired in the highest-scoring game in the wild-and-wacky Florida-LSU rivalry, Richardson was the headliner on the Orange & Blue sideline. He led the Gators to four touchdown drives in the second half after LSU opened a 21-6 lead and appeared ready to rout the Gators behind the running of Tyrion Davis-Price, who finished with a school-record 287 yards rushing, the most ever by a Florida opponent.
When the Gators regained possession with 3:30 remaining and trailing 49-42, with Richardson playing as well as he was, a game-tying touchdown drive or potential winning drive seemed a real possibility. That was until Richardson tried to force a pass to receiver Rick Wells. Richardson, under pressure, threw off his back foot up the left sideline. The pass was picked off by LSU linebacker Damone Clark with 1:59 left.
The magic show was over.
"In that time, that place, you're supposed to make a play," Richardson said. "That interception is going to humble you, but you just have to keep fighting."
The events of Saturday led to a lot of questions about whether Richardson will replace Jones as Florida's starter. It's a question UF head coach Dan Mullen has faced in less-direct ways since Richardson burst out of the gates with a series of big plays in wins over Florida Atlantic and South Florida to open the season. He suffered a hamstring injury on an 80-yard run against the Bulls that made it a moot point for a few weeks.
And Jones, who made only his seventh career start Saturday, has improved as the season has progressed to quiet some of the critics and settle into the position. Mullen remained non-committal after Saturday's loss, saying that the position will be evaluated during the bye week before facing No. 1-ranked Georgia in Jacksonville.
"He's a young quarterback that's learning and developing,'' Mullen said of Richardson. "That's a good label for him."
Mullen has a better grasp of the two quarterbacks' strengths and weaknesses than the countless armchair quarterbacks who have debated the topic for two months. I won't pretend that I know more than he does, and I understand Mullen's commitment to Jones.
Jones has been nothing but a team player in his time with the Gators and deserved a chance to start and really has done nothing to lose the job. The reason the Gators lost Saturday was primarily turnovers: two interceptions by Jones, and two by Richardson.
Afterward, with the urgency of the quarterback conundrum having reached its highest peak yet, Richardson was asked about fans' concerns that he might transfer if he doesn't start soon.
"I can't really speak on that,'' he said. "Time is the only thing that can tell, but right now, I'm a Gator. So that's only thing that matters."
I am a Florida Gator, through and through. Sorry if my response wasn't clear enough, but I'm not worried about anything but maximizing my opportunity now! Don't count us out… #GVO #GatorGang 🐊 pic.twitter.com/zE5BeKCaTK
— Anthony Richardson † (@GVOaant) October 17, 2021
And only time will tell whether it's Jones or Richardson who starts against Georgia in two weeks. All I know is Richardson has something special underneath that No. 15 jersey. I knew he was the best athlete on the team before Saturday, but I wasn't sure he was the best quarterback.
One throw convinced me. You know which one.
And that's not a knock against Jones. This is all about Richardson.
Time to go watch another replay of that throw before bedtime.
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