This is what 10 months of build-out looks like. That and a legitimate, honest to goodness, take your breath away quarterback.

Welcome to the first showing of Billy Napier’s Florida Gators. Check your guts at the door.

In one thrilling night in The Swamp, Florida showed what could be with dynamic quarterback Anthony Richardson in a 29-26 victory over No.7 Utah. And also showed what is with the remainder of the roster.

The overriding takeaway: Can one player really carry a team to a special season?

Richardson is unique, a rare athlete who can make every throw and run like an elite tailback. It’s not a stretch to say he’s every bit equal parts Cam Newton, Vince Young and — pause to genuflect, please — Tim Tebow.

The rest of the Florida roster — specifically, the defense — is still a work in progress.

But if we’ve learned one thing from Napier’s hands-on, personnel overload of a build-out, it’s don’t panic.

Like Gators fans panicked in June when Napier and his staff lost a couple of recruiting battles to SEC rivals. It led to a social media-fueled anxiety attack so significant, Napier felt compelled to deliver an open letter to the fan base.

I know what I’m doing. This is a process. It will work.

The next thing you know, Napier and his staff were wrapping up an impressive month of recruiting in July, moving from the low-20s in the 247Sports composite recruiting rankings, to a top-10 class.

Like he has for 10 months, Napier kept moving forward, never wavering from a concrete belief that he has seen this work at Louisiana in his only head coaching job, and as a top assistant at Clemson and Alabama — and it will work at Florida.

They didn’t panic in the first quarter after Montrell Johnson fumbled on the opening drive at the Utah 25. Didn’t panic after Utah did what it wanted with a trio of tight ends who were matchup problems for the Gators — until the last play of the game.

Didn’t panic when Utah used its first 3 drives of the second half and ran the ball 23 of 30 plays, and physically gutted the Gators’ defense.

Napier made it very clear that Florida’s strength is Richardson and the offensive line, and that the Gators would play to those strengths. Then they went out in their first showing and rushed for 282 yards.

They controlled the line of scrimmage and dictated tempo, and put Richardson in position to succeed. And Richardson merely played like a Heisman Trophy candidate, completing 71 percent of his passes for 168 yards, and rushing 11 times for 104 yards and 3 TDs.

He ran with the power and strength of Newton, and the effortless glide and speed of Young. He got tough yards like Tebow.

But here’s the difference: Richardson is a better pure thrower at this stage of his college career than any of those three. Every time Utah overloaded the box — with 8 and 9 players — Richardson hit critical down and distance throws.

He played so well, and the offense played with so much efficiency (7-of-12 on 3rd down, 7.15 yards per play) — despite the lost points on the first drive of the game — it overshadowed the obvious red flag in Napier’s build-out: the defense.

Numerous staff members told SDS this offseason that Napier has been excited about the first 22 on the team — but after that, there are significant concerns about the remainder of the roster. There’s a reason former coach Dan Mullen was fired after 3 New Year’s 6 bowls in 4 years, and it’s directly tied to struggles in recruiting.

Every game will be an adventure defensively. Florida struggles to get a pass rush, and the interior of the defense can be pushed around. And quality depth is a critical concern.

But for linebacker Amari Burney’s late interception in the end zone — after getting beat all game by Utah’s NFL-ready tight ends — the Florida defense missed over and over. They were outplayed by Utah’s offense, and more damning, out-schemed.

But it’s 1 game, and Napier won’t panic. And frankly, Richardson is the great equalizer. As long as Florida can keep him healthy, the Gators have an opportunity to beat any team on the schedule.

They’ll move forward next week against another ranked team (Kentucky), and play another ranked team later in the month (at Tennessee).

But after 10 months of work, the build-out is coming to fruition. You know what you have with Napier.

He’s measured, he’s confident, and he’s unlike anything Florida has had on the sidelines. He barely has a pulse in the middle of a wild stadium and a rare moment.

He’s in control, and he’s the key to Richardson reaching his massive potential.

And carrying the Gators along for the ride.