Florida QB Anthony Richardson not yet cleared from concussion suffered vs. Georgia

Football

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Image Credit: @GatorsFB on Twitter

One week after finally being elevated to the starting job, Florida Gators redshirt freshman quarterback Anthony Richardson may be unavailable to play against the South Carolina Gamecocks on Saturday. Richardson has yet to practice this week after suffering a concussion in the third quarter against the No. 1 Georgia Bulldogs, head coach Dan Mullen told the Orlando Sentinel this week.

Richardson was running with the ball in the third quarter when he was hit awkwardly in the head and neck area. He was immediately taken off the field and into the sideline medical tent before being ruled out for the remainder of the game. Redshirt junior Emory Jones, the program’s starter through its first seven games of the season, took over and led Florida’s lone scoring drive of the game late in the fourth quarter.

Neither Richardson nor Jones has been particularly effective this season, though Richardson put together a number of highlight plays over the first two weeks that made him a fan favorite and put pressure on Jones, who was struggling mightily with turnovers and overall inconsistency. Richardson compounded that early season performance with an incredible second half performance a few weeks ago when he replaced Jones and led four straight touchdown drives at LSU.

Georgia initially held Richardson in check before taking advantage of three turnovers inside the final 3 minutes of the game, converting all three — two interceptions and a fumble — into touchdowns. The game was basically out of reach for UF at that point.

A native of Gainesville, Florida, Richardson has completed just 57.9% of his passes for 474 yards with five touchdowns and five interceptions this season, adding 374 yards rushing and three more scores on the ground. He and Jones have combined to throw 15 touchdowns to 14 interceptions with Richardson’s latest performance somewhat cooling what had been a red-hot quarterback controversy.

Given Jones’ play once Richardson’s injury occurred, it was not a given that Richardson would start Saturday against South Carolina. Now, it seems like a near-certainty he will not start even if he’s cleared to play given he’s already missed three practices this week.

Mullen expressed delight over Jones’ response when informed that he was being benched for Richardson last week, praising his character, work ethic and overall demeanor.

“We had a discussion. He said, ‘Coach, I’m 100% all-in. I’m ready to go. I’m prepared. You point at me to get in that game, I’ll go execute and play. I’m ready to go,'” Mullen recalled.

The Gators are favored by 17.5 points on the road Saturday against the Gamecocks.