When It Came Down To The End, Napier Told His QB He Was 'Putting The Ball In His Hands' To Win It.

(Photo by Chris Spears)

By BUDDY MARTIN

GatorBaitMedia.com Editor

Anthony Richardson said "my heart froze" when he first heard Billy Napier's words. But the game was on the line in the final minutes and his ticket was about to get punched in front of over 90,000 maniacal fans. It was his first start in The Swamp. He'd never known what that was like before. And it was about to become his Night of Nights. It was magical.

Before the game, Richardson walked out on the field, looked up and saw the sea of faces. "A lot of people," he said. Napier told him in the waning minutes he was putting the ball in his hands to score the winning touchdown. Then Anthony proceded to score for the third time in an upset of the nation's No. 7 team as most of the 90,799 erupted in joy.

"I was just trying to make something happen. And I guess I did," Richardson said of his 2-yard burst into the South end zone of Steve Spurrier-Florida Field for the winning TD in the Gators' season opener, 29-26.

Not just "something.” Pretty much EVERYTHING. And the echoes of The Swamp awakened to explode so loudly you could hear them all the way North in I-75 to Lake City, and South to Ocala.

Well, there was that remarkable game-saving interception of Cameron Rising's pass in the end zone by "Old Man" Amari Burney that ended the game. That's what Napier calls his five-year veteran linebacker, wise enough to be in the right place at the right time on one of the memorable plays in The Night and a memorable occasion.

As for Richardson's antics, rushing for 106 yards and three touchdowns and passing for 168 on 17 completions and no picks, it even astonishes his coach the way he can turn a play into a something remarkable.

"My wife could even calls plays for him," Napier said. And on such a magical night, we could believe most anything.

Right now, Gator fans are just hoping not to wake up and discover this was just a great dream.