Report: Expected Florida Gators quarterback against Florida State
The Florida Gators will have a new starting quarterback on Saturday afternoon with Emory Jones out with a lower-body injury. According to Gator Sports' Zach Abolverdi, The Gators are expected to turn the reins over to redshirt freshman signal-caller Anthony Richardson. Richardson himself dealt with an injury over the last few weeks that has limited his availability.
The Georgia native will be making the second start of his career against the Seminoles. He took over for Jones during Florida's 34-7 loss to Georgia in late October. During the contest against the Bulldogs, Richardson completed 60% of his passes for 82 yards and two interceptions while running for 26 yards. That said, it's hard to take much away from his performance against one of the best defenses in the nation.
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Richardson has proven to be an adept scrambler during the 2021 season. He's rushed 40 times for 374 yards (9.4 YPC) and three touchdowns. However, the bulk of that production came in wins over Florida Atlantic and USF. Richardson has accumulated just 99 rushing yards and one touchdown during his last four appearances.
The redshirt freshman has completed 57.9% of his passes for 474 yards with five touchdowns and five interceptions during the six games he's played in. He suffered a concussion against Georgia but cleared protocols to play against South Carolina before hurting his knee while dancing prior to the game. Richardson has missed the last three games and it's possible that he won't be 100% on Saturday. He has been taking first-team reps during the Gators practices this week.
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If Richardson is injured during the contest, Florida will turn to true freshman Carlos Del Rio-Wilson, who has yet to take a snap at the collegiate level.
Florida State will be looking to turn the heat up on the Gators' offense with defensive ends Jermaine Johnson and Keir Thomas playing some of the best football of their respective careers. The pass-rushing duo led the ACC with 20 combined pressures in the win over Boston College.
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