Florida quarterback Anthony Richardson was among the signal-callers who garnered plenty of preseason hype ahead of the 2022 season. At times he’s backed it up, but at other times, he has looked more inconsistent than anything else.

His most recent contest was the 26-16 loss to Kentucky in which he completed 14-of-35 passes for 143 yards with zero passing touchdowns and two interceptions, failing to use his mobility to reach the end-zone or even eclipse five rushing yards.

Richardson definitely still has the backing of ESPN NFL Draft analyst Todd McShay, among others.

“I saw a young, inexperienced quarterback who has all the talent in the world,” McShay said in an appearance on The Paul Finebaum Show. “I’ll say this about ‘AR’: He is the most physically gifted quarterback in the country, and I don’t think it’s close. I think he can be a superstar in college football, I think he can be a superstar in the NFL. That’s how much talent he has. He’s just not there yet. He completed 33 passes a year ago and that was just his third start with the Florida Gators. You see all the talent and all these idiot draft analysts come out and say he could be a high first-round pick and everyone in the media saying maybe Heisman Trophy after … one game, at that point.”

It’s easy to to agree with the high upside, intriguing ceiling argument that McShay brings to the table here. And it’s also important to recognize that Richardson is still a young and inexperienced quarterback overall, so there will be some rough patches along the way.

“But the reality is he’s going to go through some bumps,” McShay said. “I think he’s still kind of understanding the whole field. I think he’s still struggling with when to take a little bit off of his fastball. Not everything on a line and realizing some touch throws vs. when you’ve got to drive the ball in and fit in a tight window.”