Anthony Richardson to make second career start with Emory Jones injured

Anthony Richardson, Florida’s explosive freshman quarterback, will be getting his second career start on Saturday against Florida State, according to Gator Sports.

Emory Jones, the team’s planned starter, went down with an ankle injury during practice on Monday and is now considered doubtful for Saturday. The extent of Jones’ injury is unknown but Richardson has taken the majority of first-team reps this week.

Gator Nation got its first taste of the AR-15 era against LSU when Richardson nearly led the Gators to a comeback before throwing an interception on the game’s final drive. Richardson’s performance was good enough to earn him the start against Georgia after the bye, or maybe Jones was just that uninspiring in the loss. Either way, the team had a new starter against one of the program’s most hated rivals.

Things didn’t go well against Georgia. Richardson threw for just 82 yards and added two more interceptions to his season total. A concussion knocked Richardson out for the second half of the game, and a dancing injury among others in practice kept him out of the team’s next two games as well.

So now Florida is once again poised to face one of its most hated rivals with Richardson under center. The Seminoles don’t have nearly as good a defense as the Bulldogs did, and Richardson grew up watching the rivalry unfold in Gainesville. Both teams need a win on Saturday to become bowl eligible, setting up an almost movie-like scenario for Richardson to bring hope to the Gators after a trainwreck of a season.

The freshman can afford to make a few mistakes this time around, but he’ll need to be at his best with presumably no one to back him up.

Related

Florida lands 4-star defensive lineman despite not having a coach

Is Florida the best job currently available in college football?

Here's the buzz ESPN is hearing about the Florida opening

Florida loses top commit in 2022 recruiting class

Dan Mullen addresses the Gator Nation after parting ways with Florida

List

Potential candidates to replace Dan Mullen at Florida

Follow us @GatorsWire on Twitter and like our page on Facebook to follow ongoing coverage of Florida Gators news, notes and opinions.