If you have Anthony Richardson as 1 of your top 3-4 quarterback prospects in the 2023 NFL Draft class, I’ve got a question for you.

Which game did you watch — Utah or Tennessee?

Or did you possibly dust off the 2021 USF tape? Surely you didn’t bother for the more current USF game last month, wherein Richardson checked into a passing play after marching down the field with the ground game, and then proceeded to throw a red zone interception that nearly cost his team the game as a 3-score home favorite.

The reality is if you’re of the belief that Richardson is a top 3 or 4 quarterback prospect right now, you’re telling on yourself that you don’t have the full sample size. Or if you have watched all the games Richardson played, you’re telling yourself that it doesn’t matter that he still makes far too many mistakes, and that his fundamentals will continue to improve once he reaches the NFL.

But what about those unteachable tools? Won’t that translate well to the next level? They could, but Richardson needs more reps at the college level if that’ll ever happen.

That’s why Saturday’s Florida vs. Georgia game, a year after his first career start, will pour some cold water on the hot takes from the “Richardson is ready for the NFL” crowd.

The redshirt sophomore would benefit greatly from another year in school. And while I believe people like myself should refrain from telling a college kid whether they should collect NFL millions, I’d argue that NIL changed that conversation. Richardson would continue to be an NIL darling in that market. I’m not saying that’s an equalizer, but let’s just say Richardson won’t be driving a ’98 Toyota Corolla around campus if he sticks around another year.

Richardson’s first career start last year was an impossible spot. Dan Mullen asked Richardson to lead the troops for the first time against arguably the best defense of the 21st century. Three bad decisions resulted in 3 turnovers in the final 2 and a half minutes of the first half, and well, that was all she wrote.

This year, however, is an excellent opportunity for Billy Napier to show that he has a better plan for Richardson than his predecessor. Granted, this Georgia defense isn’t at the level that last year’s was, though I bet Richardson probably wasn’t thrilled that Nolan Smith returned for another year.

Last year, Georgia capitalized on Richardson’s inexperience and delivered a knockout punch with those 3 turnovers. Richardson didn’t secure the football when he tried to pick up a first down with his legs, he rolled the dice trying to fit the ball into a tight window over the middle when he was deep in his own territory and he pre-determined a throw that Nakobe Dean had diagnosed days earlier in the film room.

In Richardson’s defense, most dudes with just 39 career pass attempts would look that bad against a historically dominant defense.

Richardson still only has 236 career pass attempts. Even compared to some of the notable recent 1-year starters who left school early, that’s still not very much:

  • Dwayne Haskins, 590 college pass attempts
  • Mitch Trubisky, 572 attempts
  • Mac Jones, 556 attempts
  • Kyler Murray, 519 attempts
  • Trey Lance, 318 attempts

And Lance, who was darn near perfect with those limited reps against FCS competition, still has massive questions surrounding his inexperience and whether that’ll prevent him from being a franchise quarterback.

If Richardson were to bolt for the NFL at season’s end, his lack of college reps would be the biggest potential red flag. For those who choose to watch more than a 2-3 game sample size, there’s enough out there that should be cause for concern. For every run like the ones he had against LSU or Utah, he also had a head-scratching turnover in a pivotal moment.

There’s a decent chance that Richardson could again have more of the latter against Georgia. It’s a more favorable matchup this year against Georgia’s defense, but it does rank No. 2 in America in scoring. It’s also the only team this season that contained Bo Nix, which is a real observation and not a sarcastic jab.

UGA’s defensive numbers are a scary sight heading into Halloween weekend:

  • 1 rushing TD (No. 1 in FBS)
  • 9.1 points per game (No. 2 in FBS)
  • 16 plays of 20 yards (No. 2 in FBS)
  • 4 passing TDs (No. 2 in FBS)
  • 5.4 yards/attempt (No. 4 in FBS)
  • 100.2 QB rating (No. 4 in FBS)
  • 83.3 rushing yards/game (No. 4 in FBS)
  • 247 yards/game (No. 4 in FBS)
  • 4.4 yards/play (No. 8 in FBS)

That’s daunting for any signal-caller, much less for a guy who ranks No. 89 in FBS in quarterback rating.

Expectations are low for Richardson, at least according to the oddsmakers.

Maybe, though, a low bar is exactly what Richardson needs. Perhaps a lack of expectations allows him to develop a rhythm, and we see the best version of himself. That is, being the guy who can fire darts to Ricky Pearsall into tight windows or being the guy who can hit Justin Shorter over the top of the secondary. Perhaps we’ll even see Richardson bust loose for a long score in the event that Georgia turns its back on him when it’s defending the pass in man coverage.

These things are all possible. They just aren’t likely.

More likely is that Richardson does a couple of “you can’t teach that” things in the midst of a frustrating day. He’s facing a defense that knows a thing or 2 about speeding up quarterbacks. Hence, why an elite decision-making quarterback like Bryce Young is essentially the only quarterback since the start of 2021 to have had an above-average day against the Georgia defense (Young’s SEC Championship was one of the best individual performances of the Playoff era).

Richardson has mental and physical tools that need developing, as many do entering college start No. 9. He’s still football-young. I can’t imagine thinking a month from now that he’ll have shown enough consistency to be ready for the NFL, wherein quarterback patience has never been thinner.

Another year with Napier could be monumental. Go ask guys like Will Levis and Hendon Hooker about what sticking around for another year in the SEC did for them. Maybe Richardson can follow that same path. It might be longer, but it could be what’s best for all parties.

Well, future SEC defenses might beg to differ.