GAINESVILLE, Fla. — Tim Tebow, like everyone in Gator Nation, cannot stop talking about quarterback Anthony Richardson.
A recent SEC Network production meeting turned into an impassioned sermon by Tebow on Richardson’s talents and potential.
Tebow’s colleagues did not know what to make of the Florida legend’s enthusiasm for the Gators’ redshirt freshman. Now everyone does.
Two weeks into the college football season, few players have generated more buzz than Florida’ big-play backup. Richardson could be the X-factor for the No. 11 Gators (2-0) during Saturday’s visit from top-ranked Alabama (2-0).
“I’d heard his name,” Paul Finebaum said of Richardson. “But it’s not like I’m paying a lot of attention to the backup quarterback Florida. Tebow started going off. He went on for 25 minutes. I’m going, oh my goodness.
“He’s trying not to say he’s the next Tim Tebow ... he’s clearly saying that.”
Tebow, a Heisman winner and SEC record-setter, sees something familiar in Richardson. The No. 15 jersey, the dual-threat ability, the sense for the moment.
“I think he’s very gifted,” said Tebow, in Gainesville with "SEC Nation". “Obviously, anybody can know that when you see him, he’s gifted. But he’s got a really good motion, too, very clean motion. Not just physically gifted, but his skill set is really good. And then he’s got a mentality of he wants to be great.
“The combination of those three things is something that’s pretty special.”
Richardson finds himself in a role similar to Tebow’s 15 years ago.
Tebow, then a freshman, came off the bench to spell starter Chris Leak, offer a change of pace and ignite the 2006 Gators during their unexpected national title run.
Richardson has replaced Emory Jones during the third series of the first two games and turbo charged the Gators’ attack. Appearing during just eight series of downs, Richardson has thrown touchdowns of 75 and 41 yards and run for a 73- and 80-yard score.
“He’s lightning in a bottle, can’t wait for it to happen,” said SEC Network analyst Roman Harper, a former Alabama and NFL standout.
The 6-foot-4, 236-pound Richardson, however, ended his 80-yard scamper last Saturday against USF with right hamstring tightness. He has practiced this week with his leg wrapped and is expected to play.
Without Richardson, the upset chances dwindle for the Gators, a 14.5-point underdog.
“I don’t see that. He has to play a role in this game,” Harper said. “I don’t know how big a role it will be. I pulled my hamstring a few times. It always feels good during the week of practice, but the moment you have to really to turn it on and jet and go or sudden burst — that’s when it grabs you again.
“And now you go from a grade 1 to a grade 3 really fast.”
Richardson’s impact on the Gators’ season-long success might be too much to risk for one game. But Alabama’s first visit since 2011 is not just any game for the Gators or coach Dan Mullen.
Florida has never beaten the top-ranked team at home, most recently losing 41-16 in 2002 to Miami. Mullen seeks his first win against Alabama’s Nick Saban in 11 tries.
“I think it would be such a signature win,” SEC Network analyst Laura Rutledge said. “It would be historical, it would be monumental, it would be something that Mullen has always expected that he could do.
“To finally have that come to fruition would be a big step up.”
A healthy Richardson would boost UF’s chances, but the Gators need Jones, who has four interceptions, to play better.
“The whole offense is just so simplified when he’s in,” Harper said of Richardson. “Run, quarterback run or shot plays. That will not beat Alabama. You won’t beat it running just that offense.
“They will adjust and just kind of put you away.”
The Gators look to snap a seven-game skid against the Crimson Tide, dating to the 2008 SEC title game when Tebow was leading the program to its second national title in three seasons.
While similar success is unfair to expect from Richardson, a 19-year-old from Gainesville, Tebow has had high hopes for ever since they met in January 2020 when the Gators’ rising star was an early enrollee at UF.
“Right after he got here, I came and worked out with the guys and threw with them,” Tebow recalled. “This was I don’t remember, a few days after he got here. I was like ... I like it.”
