All season there have been murmurs among Florida fans and on social media about Anthony Richardson and a belief that he should be the starting quarterback. Some in the fanbase even went as far as to wonder that if Richardson wasn't made the starter at some point he would transfer.
Richardson replaced Jones in the second half after Jones threw his ninth interception — the most a UF quarterback has thrown in a single season since 2014 — and promptly led four consecutive scoring drives. The Gators' offense looked different. The LSU defense had to respect Richardson's running ability and the redshirt freshman was making passes, including three touchdown tosses.
When Dan Mullen was asked after the game who would be Florida's starting quarterback he didn't give the answer fans wanted.
"I thought you saw some good things from both quarterbacks today, saw some mistakes from both quarterbacks today," he answered. "So we'll evaluate that, of how that's going to play out moving forward. I can jump up and down on the table on some really good things they did and jump up and down on the table on some terrible mistakes that they both, that we made, so we'll evaluate that part of it."
In the era of the transfer portal, it's never been easier to leave a situation you're no longer happy with. There were more than 150 quarterbacks in the transfer portal between the 2020 and 2021 seasons and Gator fans are worried that Anthony Richardson may take a look if things don't go his way.
After the game, a reporter asked if Anthony Richardson could put Gator fans at ease. Richardson loves being a Gator. He was raised in Gainesville. Can you tell them that you're committed to them and the university? His answer wasn't what fans wanted to hear.
"I can’t really speak on that," he said. "Time, time is the only thing that can tell, but right now I'm a Gator. So that's only thing that matters.”
Emory Jones has been a good teammate. He waited four seasons and his loyalty to the program has been rewarded. At times this season, it has appeared that Richardson may be the better option this season and he certainly appears to be the long-term future.
Saturday, with all hopes and goals for the season lost in Death Valley, it was evident that the time to look to the future was now. Richardson made some freshman mistakes on Saturday, including an interception on what was Florida's last chance to tie the game but it's better he make them now, when you're 4-3 and completely out of the SEC race than to continue limiting him and try to figure out how to win games in 2022 without him.
