Ignition Reels: Florida's Anthony Richardson Studying Two NFL All-Pro QBs

Photo: Anthony Richardson; Credit: Zach Goodall

Each offseason of his young career as a college football head coach, Billy Napier has compiled "lesson plans" for each of the quarterbacks on his program's roster to continue the offensive install from spring camp.

In those plans, as well as the development formulas for non-quarterbacks, Napier and his staff would assemble highlight videos of NFL players with similar skill-sets to the players that made up his Louisiana roster, deemed "ignition reels." That routine has carried over to Florida, where Napier took over as head coach last December.

Speaking at a coaching clinic in 2020 during his tenure with the Ragin' Cajuns, Napier shared his intent behind the reels, to “create a visual for the player of things being done at an elite level.”

Which begs the question: Who has Napier and quarterbacks analyst Ryan O'Hara included in Florida Gators quarterback Anthony Richardson's ignition reel entering his first season as a starter?

Richardson shared with AllGators at SEC Media Days on Wednesday that the passers included in his reel are Josh Allen of the Buffalo Bills and Aaron Rodgers of the Green Bay Packers – both All-Pros and the latter a four-time league MVP.

Richardson's 6-foot-4, 232 pounds, closely resembles the 6-foot-5, 238-pound Allen physically and from a play-style perspective. His 73-yard toss at the Manning Passing Academy and well-documented 21+ miles per hour rush in Week 1 of the 2021 season is reminiscent of the dual-threat nature of both Allen and Rodgers' game, as well.

Air It Out competition at the Manning Passing Academy

Anthony Richardson has an absolute cannon.. #MPA pic.twitter.com/hRKcsjEyKO
— Taylor McHargue (@TMcHargue16) June 25, 2022

Of course, there's more than size, arm power and mobility that goes into playing quarterback.

Rodgers, a 17-year vet who will be the NFL's highest-paid player this year at 38 years old, is everything a coach could ever dream of at the position, with the athletic tools noted above paired with pristine accuracy, great awareness on the field and poise under pressure.

Allen, entering year five of his pro career, has steadily improved over time as he was considered a "project" prospect not all that different from Richardson when Allen entered the league.

Known for his massive arm and impressive speed in college at Wyoming, Allen took several years to develop better accuracy and passing mechanics with the Bills. His 67 passing touchdowns over the last two seasons point to his significant development, with 31 career rushing scores as a cherry on top, and Napier is hopeful that Richardson can make a similar production jump with the Gators.

That all being said, Napier has done his best to temper expectations ahead of UF's 2022 campaign throughout his first offseason in charge, and Richardson's case has been no different.

He's stressed that Richardson's physical talents are remarkable and could lead to a lot of exciting football, but his inexperience will certainly lead to some growing pains, especially as the redshirt sophomore adjusts to Napier's offense.

"I've been impressed. I think he's remained humble, he's got a little bit of an edge. I think he wants to prove himself," Napier said of Richardson on Wednesday. "He's still relatively an inexperienced player, played 221 plays or something like that, completed 33 passes.

"He has tremendous ability. He's working hard to develop, improve as a person, as a leader. He's working hard to increase his football IQ. His skill is developing. I think he's prime to have a phenomenal year."

Napier certainly doesn't expect Richardson to play to the caliber of Allen and Rodgers at this point in his career. But considering the strengths of his skill-set, it makes sense that Napier wants Richardson to study their tape and try to learn from some of the best quarterbacks in the game.

Stay tuned to AllGators for continuous coverage of Florida Gators football, basketball and recruiting. Follow along on social media at @SI_AllGators on Twitter and Florida Gators on Sports Illustrated on Facebook.