Richardson: ‘Lord knows what my ceiling is.’

[JAFF]

https://www.indystar.com/story/sport...k/70051140007/

This is a boy merging with a man here, showing off in front of hundreds of eyes paid highly to scout the difference between the two. He's a 20-year-old who rides to football practice with his younger brother on the handle-bars, who sometimes speaks of quarterbacking like a backflip he just launched into, an act of sheer courage he feels cosmetically wired to land.


And yet he lands enough of these acts because the legs he's operating on belong to those of a man. He measured and tested those limbs last month at the NFL Scouting Combine, checking in at 6-foot-4 and 244 pounds. He jumped higher than any quarterback in the history of the event at 40.5 inches. He leaped farther than all but one, too, at 10 feet 9 inches. And he sprinted 40 yards in 4.43 seconds, a time reserved for the pro defensive backs he'll throw at next season.

"I actually met him in the sixth or seventh grade. He was athletic then. He could jump out of the gym then," said Florida defensive tackle Gervon Dexter Sr., who also grew up in central Florida. "All of the stuff he did at the combine, it surprised a lot of people, but it didn't surprise me."


Richardson still attacks football with the enthusiasm of that seventh-grader, in part because he never had to leave him behind. He attended Eastside High School in Gainesville, where he dreamed of running into the Swamp with a Gator Chomp and leading a team with his radiant joy. The kids around him never caught up in height or weight, and each deep throw and stiff-arm of a Southeastern Conference defender made him feel like those childhood dreams were real.

That doesn't mean it was all perfect or even close. Kids crash sometimes, to. And behind those tree-trunk legs and linebacker torso are some warts, like a 54.7% career completion rate and just 24 touchdown passes and 13 starts at

"I'm a workhorse. I'm going to work to become the greatest," Richardson said.

Never in the passing league era has a college quarterback with Richardson’s mix of experience and production become a notable NFL quarterback. But never has one had the measurables he has and been given the same opportunity.


He is a wind-up toy. Ask him where he needs to get better and he can't pin it down.

He hasn't scratched that part of the surface yet.


"If you ask me, I'd say everything: footwork, accuracy, arm power, leadership, decision-making. I could go on and on," Richardson said.

Asked about his lack of production, he'll say, "I can't control everything. I do feel like I'm a great player."

Richardson is effervescent when asked about his strengths and evasive when pressed on his weaknesses. He's a 20-year-old getting ready to leave his hometown for the first time, a maturation process the NFL is trying to microwave with cameras, comparisons and hyperbole.


"The sun is shining," Florida guard O'Cyrus Torrence said. "If you're in a room with people who are sad, you'll see him smiling. He lifts up the morale of the room. You can see it in sparks out here on the field, but you really see it in the locker room."

Richardson thrives on joy, and doing things with a football others cannot brings him that. It's harder to dwell on the details. But those in his circle are trying.

At his pro day, he tried to walk back some of the hype he threw on himself at the combine, back when he spoke about playing like a cross between Cam Newton and Lamar Jackson and describing himself as legendary.

"I don't believe in hype," he said. "Hype can take you down the wrong tunnel, and I'm not going down the wrong tunnel."

But he's also not afraid of it.


"I wore No. 15 here at the University of Florida. A lot of people thought it was going be hard for me to try to mimic (Tim) Tebow, but I didn't want to mimic Tebow. I just wanted to be the best version of myself," Richardson said. "So if Carolina was to draft me, then I'm not going to try to be like Cam (Newton)."

This is Richardson shifting into business mode, trading that sweat-soaked white spandex T-Shirt for a suit that doesn't quite fit yet.

By now, all of his games, the throws on air, the highlights and the misses and the measurables are out in the open. What's left is six interviews with teams, and the Colts will be one of them. They have to wait and see what the Panthers and Texans do at quarterback first. Indianapolis had director of scouting Morocco Brown in attendance, a shift from area scout Mike Lacy, who handled C.J. Stroud's and Will Levis' pro day since those were within driving distance to Indianapolis.


A job interview invites something metaphysically different than a kid launching a football into a steel white beam, like Richardson did Friday because he saw Levis do it on TV and wanted to try it, too. His smile belied both the calm and the wonder.

Florida quarterback Anthony Richardson started just 13 games in college before becoming one of the top fascinations in this year's NFL Draft.
"Lord knows what my ceiling is and what it's going to be," he said.

That, in a nutshell, is the Richardson experience. Nobody knows where this ship is going to end up, just that it's about to take off.

But a kid from Gainesville can still smile from the launch pad. That's what he did in the moments after he heaved those 50-some passes into the sky. Teenagers and college students approached in small groups for photos with the latest wonderkid draft prospect, and Richardson smiled as the cameras clicked, the shutters capturing the beginning of a journey with not a care in the world about the end.

[Dam8610]

He needs 2 years to sit, and I don't know if Steichen is at the level of Andy Reid for developing a raw talent like him.

[Oldcolt]

How in the hell do you know this? I didn’t want an answer. It is rhetorical, you don’t

[Dam8610]

Originally Posted by Oldcolt

How in the hell do you know this? I didn’t want an answer. It is rhetorical, you don’t

I specifically said I don't know that Stiechen is on Andy Reid's level to develop a QB like Richardson. I read a few articles on the process Reid used to develop Mahomes, it was very intentional that he sat the first year, they recognized he was far away from being ready to start an NFL game when they drafted him, and that just throwing him in the fire could have completely shattered his confidence. Patrick Mahomes as a draft prospect was far ahead of Anthony Richardson in terms of being ready to start an NFL game, that's why I think at least 2 years would be ideal for him. Honestly, a draft and stash strategy where they draft Richardson, bring in Lamar Jackson and make it clear that they're going to run a more run heavy style of offense going forward might be the best way to go. Giving Richardson an Aaron Rodgers style start to his career would be even better, and if you sign Lamar to a 5 year deal and guarantee the first 4, the Ravens are unlikely to match, and then you have a true mentor for the kid who will fully take the pressure off of him to start for the first several years of his career.

IMO doing that or trading up to 1 are basically the only real competitive strategies to move forward.

[JAFF]

Originally Posted by Dam8610

He needs 2 years to sit, and I don't know if Steichen is at the level of Andy Reid for developing a raw talent like him.

If he cant find the field in the beginning of his sophomore season, then he cant be the choice. To get only 3 years of a 5 year deal(?) where he is on the field is nuts. Al he will be asked to do is work on football full time with other pro football players and coaches. First round players need to play to get better, he wont learn anything from the sideline.

Best way to learn how to do anything is by doing it. If this new HC is as good as advertised, he should be able to build packages of plays that progressively build up his knowledge base. Oh, and commit to the RUNNING game. Double tight, double wide, single back (Taylor) and punch the other team in the mouth.

[Lov2fish]

Originally Posted by Dam8610

I specifically said I don't know that Stiechen is on Andy Reid's level to develop a QB like Richardson. I read a few articles on the process Reid used to develop Mahomes, it was very intentional that he sat the first year, they recognized he was far away from being ready to start an NFL game when they drafted him, and that just throwing him in the fire could have completely shattered his confidence. Patrick Mahomes as a draft prospect was far ahead of Anthony Richardson in terms of being ready to start an NFL game, that's why I think at least 2 years would be ideal for him. Honestly, a draft and stash strategy where they draft Richardson, bring in Lamar Jackson and make it clear that they're going to run a more run heavy style of offense going forward might be the best way to go. Giving Richardson an Aaron Rodgers style start to his career would be even better, and if you sign Lamar to a 5 year deal and guarantee the first 4, the Ravens are unlikely to match, and then you have a true mentor for the kid who will fully take the pressure off of him to start for the first several years of his career.

IMO doing that or trading up to 1 are basically the only real competitive strategies to move forward.

Its astounding that all the teams who need good GM's have not scooped you up and gave you the keys to the franchise.

[Colts And Orioles]

Originally Posted by Oldcolt

How in the hell do you know this ??? I didn’t want an answer. It is rhetorical, you don’t.

o


Richardson specifically said that he needed 2 years to sit. He said that he didn't want to be rushed, and that he came out of college a year early in order to study the game by watching how a seasoned veteran operates from the bench. He is confident that he will be raring to go as a starting NFL quarterback in 2025.

No, I just made that up.

o

[Dewey 5]

Originally Posted by JAFF

If he cant find the field in the beginning of his sophomore season, then he cant be the choice. To get only 3 years of a 5 year deal(?) where he is on the field is nuts. Al he will be asked to do is work on football full time with other pro football players and coaches. First round players need to play to get better, he wont learn anything from the sideline.

Best way to learn how to do anything is by doing it. If this new HC is as good as advertised, he should be able to build packages of plays that progressively build up his knowledge base. Oh, and commit to the RUNNING game. Double tight, double wide, single back (Taylor) and punch the other team in the mouth.

Packers are now doing exactly that with Jordan Love.

[albany ed]

Originally Posted by Colts And Orioles

o


Richardson specifically said that he needed 2 years to sit. He said that he didn't want to be rushed, and that he came out of college a year early in order to study the game by watching how a seasoned veteran operates from the bench. He is confident that he will be raring to go as a starting NFL quarterback in 2025.

No, I just made that up.

o

Before that last line, I was about to say, how the hell does Richardson know he needs 2 years, unless of course he checked with Dam first.

[Dam8610]

Originally Posted by JAFF

If he cant find the field in the beginning of his sophomore season, then he cant be the choice. To get only 3 years of a 5 year deal(?) where he is on the field is nuts. Al he will be asked to do is work on football full time with other pro football players and coaches. First round players need to play to get better, he wont learn anything from the sideline.

Best way to learn how to do anything is by doing it. If this new HC is as good as advertised, he should be able to build packages of plays that progressively build up his knowledge base. Oh, and commit to the RUNNING game. Double tight, double wide, single back (Taylor) and punch the other team in the mouth.

I guess you know more than Andy Reid and Patrick Mahomes, both of whom credit Mahomes's meteoric rise to the year he spent on the bench learning from the sidelines. But I'm sure you know more than the best QB developing coach and best QB in the NFL about how QBs develop.

Also, I'd rather have 3 years of elite play than 4 years of average play or 5 years of bad play. That's not to say those are guarantees, but the longer he sits, the more likely he is to be successful once he takes the field.

Originally Posted by Lov2fish

Its astounding that all the teams who need good GM's have not scooped you up and gave you the keys to the franchise.

That's it guys, pack up the message board, turns out you can't have an opinion on football unless you're the GM of a team. Guess we should tell the Dane Bruglers, Brett Kollmans, and JT O'Sullivans of the world to shut down their outlets as well, they can't have an opinion on football because they're not GMs.

Originally Posted by Dewey 5

Packers are now doing exactly that with Jordan Love.

This is the second time in a row the Packers are putting a QB in after having him sit for a significant length of time. It worked out really well for them with Rodgers. Love isn't as talented, so it might not work out as well this time.