Report: Florida Football Fans Left Angry After Former Quarterback Drops Harsh Statement – 2024 Offseason
The Florida football program has faced difficulties since Dan Mullen’s second-to-last season in Gainesville. After an 8-4 record in 2020, Mullen was dismissed 11 games into the following season, with Florida at 5-6. The Gators have now gone three years without a winning season post-Mullen. Despite struggles in offensive and defensive performance and challenges in high-profile games, the SEC program was home to quarterback from 2020 to 2022 before he departed for the NFL, eventually being selected as the fourth overall pick.
Richardson played two seasons under Mullen before becoming the starting quarterback in 2022 under current head coach Billy Napier. However, in a recent interview, Richardson revealed that he nearly left Florida before Mullen’s exit. More surprisingly, he admitted that regardless of his draft prospects, he had planned to leave Florida after his third season. Unsurprisingly, this revelation did not sit well with Gator fans, who criticized Richardson on social media as the weekend approached.
Florida Football Fans: Share Displeasure with Anthony Richardson
Idk where he was going to go but bro played horrible for Florida lmao he got drafted off of measurements
— Dillon Daniel (@OfficialDDaniel) August 6, 2024
Earlier this week, a podcast clip featuring former Florida football quarterback Anthony Richardson resurfaced and quickly went viral. In the discussion, shared by NFL Digest on Twitter and TikTok, Richardson expressed his dissatisfaction with former head coach Dan Mullen’s handling of his playing time. He claimed that poor management and multiple injuries nearly drove him to leave Florida after just his second season.
UF did a lot for Anthony, even though he was always hurt and he didn’t perform well when he was healthy. The fans and school stuck by him. It’s disappointing to see him somehow blame the people who were trying to help him.
— Gator Michael (@gator_michael1) August 6, 2024
However, Richardson decided to stay with the program following the transition to head coach Billy Napier. Despite this, Richardson’s affection for the program had dwindled by the end of the 2022 season, and he was prepared to leave Gainesville, Florida, either for the draft or through the transfer portal.
Florida football fans were outraged by Richardson’s remarks about the program, especially given the team’s struggles with him as quarterback. Gator supporters took to Twitter (now known as X) to express their frustration with Richardson’s recent comments.
Richardson: Unpleased with Florida Football
Anthony Richardson is set to enter his second NFL season with the Indianapolis Colts next fall. His rookie season in 2023 was cut short due to shoulder surgery, though he managed to impress as a passer despite struggling with fumbles. In seven games, Richardson threw for 577 yards, three touchdowns, and one interception. The former Florida Gator might have ended up on a different NFL team if he had chosen to transfer to another school before committing to the 2023 NFL Draft. In a resurfaced podcast clip, Richardson revealed that he nearly left Florida twice during his college career.
He recalled, “I started pulling my hammies. Never pulled my hammies before. I’m like, ‘Bro, what’s going on?’ They messed around and threw me out there to start against Georgia, the number one defense in the country, statistically, everywhere. I left that game early with a concussion. Then, I messed my knee up and had to have surgery at the end of the season.”
Richardson continued, “So, in my third year, we got a new coaching staff. I told them [Florida], ‘Let’s see how this spring goes, but if it ain’t it, I’m out of here.’ They were like, ‘Alright, we understand,’ because I was going to have to learn a new offense, and I’m coming off of knee surgery. I might not be able to run the same. I stuck with it. But by the end of that year, I already knew I wasn’t going to be at Florida again. Whether I declared or not, I wasn’t going to be there again.”