JACKSONVILLE, Fla. — Florida quarterback Anthony Richardson was admittedly unprepared for his first collegiate start.
He found out “a day or two” before the Gators played top-ranked Georgia last year that he would be replacing Emory Jones in the matchup of Southeastern Conference rivals known as the World’s Largest Outdoor Cocktail Party. Richardson was excited for the opportunity, but when he stepped inside TIAA Bank Field — home of the NFL’s Jacksonville Jaguars — hours before the opening kickoff, he started feeling some different emotions.
“I’m not going to lie, I had a lot of jitters,” Richardson recalled this week. “I was in my head a lot. I was a little nervous. First career start against the No. 1 defense, so of course I was thinking a lot.”
He has spent the past 12 months reliving it.
Richardson and the Gators were mostly overmatched and definitely overwhelmed in a two-minute span in the second quarter that was the difference in Georgia’s 34-7 victory. Richardson was knocked around and then knocked out of the game with a concussion.