Gator Football Pro Day: Richardson shows off his immense talent

GAINESVILLE, Fla. (WCJB) -Sometimes you can judge an athlete’s wow factor by the noise they generate. But when Anthony Richardson’s number came up at Gator Pro Day, it was as if time stood still.

Florida’s 2022 starting quarterback is shootng up the draft boards, and it was easy to see why on Thursday. Richardson connected on an assortment of short, intermediate, and deep routes in front of dozens of NFL scouts, and even a few head coaches. Doug Pederson of the Jags, the Seahawks’ Pete Carroll, and the Panthers’ Frank Reich were all in attendance. Carolina holds the No. 1 overall pick.

There has been hype about Richardson possibly going in the top 10 in a quarterback-heavy draft that also incudes CJ Stroud, Bryce Young, and Will Levis. But after completing just 53 percent of his passes in one season as a starter, Richardson felt he needed to answer questions about his accuracy. The Gainesville native believes he passed the test.

“I feel like I delivered the ball pretty well today,” said Richardson. “Some weren’t as great as I wanted them to be. But I feel like I threw the ball pretty well. I want to show how great I was as well. So just coming out here, having fun with my brothers for maybe the last time, it was definitely a blessing.”

Pro Day is all about showing in person what doesn’t jump out on film. Former Gator egde rusher Brenton Cox completed 29 reps on the bench press. Linebacker Amari Burney turned in one of the day’s fastest 40-yard times--4.53 seconds.

Defensive lineman Gervon Dexter showed some quickness in drills. And All-American guard O’Cyrus Torrence has demonstrated discipline by dropping 15 pounds. Torrence now weighs 330 pounds and appeared to be light on his feet.

“A lot of questions was how good I would retain information in meetings, so I feel I checked that box and showed I could do that and also coming out here and showing I could lose weight when I needed to and being able to move and be in good shape when I need to,” said Torrence. “We had time off so I feel like I was able to check those boxes with it.”

“I think a lot of people, with me being 6-foot-6, didn’t think I could bend as well as I do,” said Dexter. “I did pretty good at bending through the hoops and getting through the bags and stuff like that.”

Pro Football Network says Dexter could be drafted in round two or three. Torrence is a possible first rounder.

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