Buddy Martin Blog: Just How Stellar AR-15 Can Become Depends Mostly On Those Around Him
Appropriate that AR-15 is being hoisted by O-Lineman Rich Gouraige (Chris Spears Photo)
"Richardson is the most athletic QB I’ve seen since Cam Newton passed this way, but, of course, he lacks the intangibles of a Tebow, such as fiery leadership and a Braveheart commitment."
You could call it QB Statue U. Which is what it looks like outside Steve Spurrier Florida Field /Ben Hill Griffin Stadium. The Gators are proud of their quarterback heritage. Except, Tim Tebow doesn’t live here anymore. Some people do speculate that Florida’s quarterback in waiting has Tebow-like talent. These next few days and months are going to tell us a little about that.
If the quarterback is coming to the rescue this year -- meaning Anthony Richardson -- it’s going to take a much larger supporting cast than he has at present. That’s exactly what Billy Napier is working on at the moment. And we may be getting a glimpse of that in the Orange and Blue Game.
We love to see him run and jump and throw. Even Tebow referred to Richardson as a “freak” in some of his early projections of the 6-4, 235-pound phenom from Gainesville Eastside. The truth is, however, that Napier’s going to need more than flash and dash. The smartest people I know with insight into the quarterback position would like to see him maybe with more clash and bash. For sure less dashing.
Keep in mind, however, that AR-15 is no battering ram and has been given to injury. And so while pulling down the ball and eschewing the pass in favor of scrambling will no doubt be in AR-15’s repertoire, it just can’t be his main weapon. Oddly enough, this version of #15 is even more athletic than was the #15 with a Heisman Trophy, but what Billy Napier lacks is the comparable offensive unit around Tebow and the thundering hoofbeats of the quarterback with a tailback‘s tough mentality .
Richardson is the most athletic QB I’ve seen since Cam Newton passed this way, but, of course, he lacks the intangibles of a Tebow, such as fiery leadership and a Braveheart commitment.
With a player as talented as AR-15, it’s easy to fall in love with his skill set. If he were a baseball player, he’d be a five-tool athlete. When we last saw Richardson before his injury at the end of 2021, the whole team was in a tailspin and there was nothing much to judge. The good news was that he did not test the transfer portal and that he recovered from surgery in time to begin taking snaps from Day 1 in spring ball.
So what's ahead for him?
Richardson must learn to play the position. That means having the patience to stand tall in the pocket, withstand the oncoming heat and work through his progressions. Even when he thinks he could probably step to the side to avoid the rush and make two yards, he must keep reading or throw the ball away. Which he what he is learning, but it may take a minute for him to play like that at a high level.
This is where Napier, himself a college quarterback, will be constantly grooming, mentoring and coaching up this promising young talent. The good news is that Richardson’s new quarterback acumen has apparently kicked in, causing his coach to comment optimistically on the newfound capacity for learning and retaining the playbook.
We’ll have a better idea how he performs under fire following Thursday night’s Orange and Blue Game, but without full-go blitz packages. That, however, is not the only Work In Progress.
The entire offensive unit must begin to take shape quickly, since ranked Utah is coming to The Swamp in under 4 1/2 months. (Note to self: So far every Way Too Early CFB Poll for 2022 has the Utes ranked No. 7 or higher.) Some of that will be determined by how successful Napier’s mining of the transfer portal turns out. He announced that he’s definitely going on a talent search to fill out his three-deep roster, which is currently only a two-deep.
As my GatorBait colleagues have written in this current issue on pre-season analysis, this team has depth at secondary and running back. With the arrival of Jack Miller, plus holdovers Jalen Kitna and Carlos Del Rio-Wilson, quarterback is adequate. Although reports are that the O-Line is shaping up under Rob Sale and Darnell Stapleton, there will no doubt be a need for help on both lines of scrimmage, a tight end and a speedy wide receiver or two.
Once the roster is set, then it’s time for Napier to build his team and all that comes with nurturing, molding, motivating, blending nutrition/conditioning and mental discipline. Then it’s time for execution of the vision.
If it were possible to grade Napier on matters of comportment, restructuring of staff and navigation of a new system, I’d give him an A. As far as we know, Napier has kept his players out of trouble and has been successful getting them to class. Now comes the tough part: How does that all translate to success on the field? What he calls “playing Winning Football.” Much of that will fall at the feet of his quarterback, or quarterbacks.
Coaching Richardson into good habits could be worth a win or two by itself. Clearly that means he must take a step forward in good decision-making and consistent play. This could be enhanced greatly by having a strong running game to take the burden off AR-15. So the integration of units is critical for not just Richardson. Mixing all this into one pot, there is the challenge of coordinating a new staff of nearly 50 people. The simple task of just a roll call of coaches and communication with them cannot be taking lightly. The good news: It’s an impressive bunch.
Out with the old — excessive penalties for illegal motion, interceptions, improve the turnover ratio.
Others have discussed this already in this current GatorBait issue, but there’s a whole new chapter to be written on defense and Napier has the coaches to do it, from Co-Defensive Coordinators Patrick Toney and Sean Spencer to Assistant Head Coach/Cornerbacks Corey Raymond. Frankly, if they could just keep a team like LSU from running the same play for what seemed 100 times, improve tackling and making an occasional third down stop, that would be a massive improvement.
Still, most fans will want to put the blame on the quarterback if it goes wrong. When it comes down to success, Anthony Richardson may not quite be capable of leading the Florida Gators to a championship yet. However he can start by leading them out of the wilderness. And sooner than we think. That’s what the coaches, fans and media have to remember. It’s gotta start somewhere. Why not here? Now.
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