Florida quarterback Anthony Richardson is expected to make his second career start Saturday against Florida State, according to The Gainesville Sun’s Zach Abolverdi.
Abolverdi’s report said the decision comes following an ankle injury to redshirt junior Emory Jones, the Gators’ starter for most of the season, during Monday’s practice. 247Sports also reported Jones was injured during practice.
Richardson, a redshirt freshman, strung together 474 passing yards, 374 rushing yards, eight touchdowns and five interceptions across seven games played this season. He posted a career-high 167 passing yards and four total touchdowns in a near-comeback against Louisiana State Oct. 16.
He hasn’t thrown a pass since Florida’s Oct. 30 loss against No. 1 Georgia, his first career start.
The Gainesville native’s first start was smothered by the Bulldogs’ elite defense, which only allows an average of 7.55 points and 236.3 total yards per game. Richardson completed 12 of 20 passes, but he only managed 82 yards through the air and 26 rushing yards on 12 carries. He turned the ball over three times in the final two minutes of the opening half, one fumble and two interceptions, and left the game in the third quarter with a head injury.
Richardson further injured himself dancing in a hotel room the night before Florida’s Nov. 6 game against South Carolina, former head coach Dan Mullen said.
Running back Malik Davis said Richardson looked healthy and ready in practice this week.
“He’s been looking good,” Davis said Tuesday night. “He’s back.”
Florida needs a victory over the Seminoles to gain bowl eligibility, with kickoff slated for noon Saturday in The Swamp.
Contact Ryan Haley at rhaley@alligator.org. Follow him on Twitter @ryan_dhaley.
Ryan Haley, a UF journalism senior with a sports & media specialization from Jacksonville, Florida, is Summer 2022's Engagement Managing Editor. He grew up playing a bunch of different sports before settling on golf, following Rory McIlroy and all Philadelphia sports teams. He also loves all things fiction, reading, watching shows and movies and talking about whatever current story or character is in his head.
