Paul Finebaum watched along with the rest of us as Anthony Richardson led Florida to an outstanding Week 1 upset over No. 7 Utah in The Swamp.

Richardson was incredible, making plays with both his arm and his legs as the Gators pulled off a thrilling 29-26 victory.

On SportsCenter on Sunday morning, Finebaum said he does think Richardson has the talent to lead Florida into contention in the SEC East, but added that there are plenty of tough games along the way for Billy Napier’s squad:

“I think he can do it,” Finebaum said. “Ultimately, they have to get by Georgia in October, but forget Georgia for a second. Right now, Florida has Kentucky next. Kentucky is a team that a lot of us thought could be third or fourth in the SEC. That’s next week, and Kentucky is a little bit short-handed. A few weeks from now, Richardson and company have to go to Knoxville to face the ‘it’ team of this year. So, we’ll find out very quickly, but I think he’s capable. He reminds me a little bit of Cam Newton, who also played at Florida about 15 years ago. Also a little bit of Lamar Jackson. He is outstanding.”

Being compared to Lamar Jackson and Cam Newton, a pair of Heisman winners, is lofty praise for Richardson.

But, as we all saw on Saturday night, he is a special player when the ball is in his hands.