Buddy Martin Blog: I've Seen The Face Of Florida Football. Billy Napier Probably Has, Too.

The Face Of Gator Football: Beginning to look like Anthony Richardson. (Chris Spears Photo)

“It felt great, just being back. Running around practicing with the guys. Doing new stuff, it felt great. Lots of energy. Being back, that’s the most important part to me. It felt great.” -- Anthony Richardson.

What do they call it? The “Face of Florida Football?” I’m not even sure what that term means, except for the perception that it’s the player who best personifies the Florida Gator football team -- what it ought to look like, sort of already does and what it will in the future. But would we even know “The Face” these days if we saw it? I think we got a glimpse of it this week. Billy Napier did, too. That’s one reason the new coach was semi-smiling.

Wearing No. 15, perhaps not by coincidence, he was the human version of the Marvel character we all wanted Anthony Richardson to be — fair or not fair — as he stood out on the practice field. When Richardson finally came out of moth balls Tuesday and showed up on the deck of Billy Napier’s ship somewhat unexpectedly, we in the media were a tad surprised at what we saw. And Napier was as well, although he didn’t outright admit it. But you could see it Napier’s body language with the nods and restrained smile as I commented about AR15’s “good day” and ask for his response.

“I agree with you. I thought he had a ‘good day’,” Napier replied. “And I was impressed with what I saw. His attitude has been good. He’s impressed me with how he’s taking information and his attention to detail. And today, to be honest with you, it’s the first time I’ve seen him throw the ball live. I didn’t get a chance to see him before because he was injured in bowl practice. It certainly comes out of his hand really well. There’s a reason why people think he’s got an opportunity to be a good player. It’s our job to help him become the best player he can be.”

In other words, once Napier got a chance to look under the hood, he saw a ton of horsepower. Like a Bugatti Chiron? Well, maybe not yet, but probably more than the Dodge Durango Challenger AR15 that he drives courtesy of the NIL deal through Gator Collective with Gainesville Dodge. However, Billy knows that his strapping young 6-4, 225-pound QB will soon be driving a Rolls Royce or Lamborghini, or whatever he chooses.

One reason for all the fuss about Richardson before he ever took a snap was that (#15) Tim Tebow had already declared him a freak -- the Comicon version of the heroic science fiction quarterback, able to leap tall buildings with a single bound. And then we saw him actually do it against South Florida before disappearing into moth balls with a gimp knee. “Did you see what I just saw?” we began asking each other last fall in semi-disbelief.

Hold on here, you say. Let’s not reserve a spot for No. 15 (current roster) next to the old No. 15’s statue on Gale Lemerand just yet.

First, Richardson’s got to win the job. And stay healthy. Which was beginning to look like a slam dunk until last year’s starter showed back up and sent the media scrambling, as if we all had a senior moment. And Emory Jones seem to say, “What about me?” Ooops. Don’t tell me we’ve got another QB Controversy!?? (Editor’s note: Emory removed himself Friday by electing to choose the transfer portal.)

No wonder. When a Whack-A-Doodle Week of events began to unfold like it was April Fool’s and the Ides of March were all stirred into a Saint Patrick’s Day cocktail, anything seemed possible. Mike White to Georgia. Tom Brady back to the Bucs. And now on the first day of spring football, the Gators suddenly have five quarterbacks, including the one formerly on I.R. after knee surgery and another one who already seemed to have the Mayflower truck packed for his next stop. (Yep — Jones finished packing and will be driving it away soon.)

You want drama? Sign up as a Gator fan – maybe even as a member of Gatorcollective.com. This stuff is starting to get interesting again.

What I saw on the field renewed my conviction that AR15 is back and ready to take the torch from the likes of the Trask-Tebow-Wuerffel-Leak-Spurrier legacy and restart the fire.

Let me tell you what I saw in the Face of Gator Football as I looked into it while he spoke. Character. Kindness. Strength. Determination. And Resilience.

What I liked about watching his workout was the poise, accuracy, sense of wherewithal and mission, plus just the intangibles about how he walked, jogged and attended to his business at hand. I’m not sure I can define it, but I saw it.

The late Chad Boseman was The Face of Black Panther. (Marvel photo)

Perhaps the golden nugget in what Napier told the media was his positive comment about AR15’s ability to absorb and process new information. That means he will be likely have more tools available than to tuck and run when things go awry. Although he does seem to possess special powers.

If I were going to assign a Marvel character to depict AR15 based on my limited knowledge of comic books anymore, I’m going with Black Panther, played by the late Chad Boseman, whose character was known for his “incredible speed, ability to sense fear and lies … and see in total darkness.” Back in my day he would have been Captain Marvel or Spider Man, but unfortunately there were no African-American heroic characters then.

I realize that I’m extrapolating from a small sample size and expecting you Gator fans to take a leap of faith with me, but I’m OK with that. This is just a snapshot of what I saw, what I heard, what felt and what I see ahead. It looks pretty good.

Let’s stick with the coach and the main quarterback for now.

Coach Napier was impressed with Anthony Richardson's first practice. (Chris Spears photo)

We asked AR15 to assess his first day of throwing in practice:

“I was just throwing it and it felt good, looked good. Some passes weren’t great, but that will just come with repetition.”

What did he think of Napier as a QB coach?

“I can see that he knows a lot — he does certain things for certain personnel, so that’s a major component when it comes to helping out the team. Him being the mastermind of the offense -- I feel like that’s good.”

How did it feel out there?

“it felt great, just being back. Running around practicing with the guys. Doing new stuff, it felt great. Lots of energy. Being back, that’s the most important part to me. It felt great.”

(If you’re keeping score, that was three “greats.”)

Billy said he was impressed with the way you threw the football. What did you work on during the offseason?

“Honestly, I was just making sure my lower half was right. Because I had surgery on my knee. That was pretty much my main concern. But this past spring break I went up to Jacksonville train a little bit to get my mechanics back in shape. My QB trainer (Denny Thompson) said I looked good. I felt good, so I just tried to showcase that today.”

So, really you haven’t thrown a whole lot since last season?

“Honestly, I didn’t. I really started throwing again toward the end of last month. I was pretty much like immobilized. But once I got out of it, I tried to throw as much as I could.”

Happy to be back, but admittedly not to have missed Mark Hocke’s grueling training during the Identity Phase II of Coach Napier’s spring regimen.

“Honestly, I'm kind of glad I wasn't a part of some of that stuff,” said Richardson. “Because, those runs that I seen them do, they did look kind of tough. But you know, it was kind of hard. I feel like it's helped us because you see guys moving around quicker. Guys are stronger. So it's helped us, but I'm glad I wasn't in some of that stuff.”

So while we’ve seen a little, we’ve also seen a lot. Billy Napier has already won Day One. AR15, too.

And at the end of the day, Coach Napier was wearing a smile. (Chris Spears photo)