Anthony Richardson talks Florida playoff chances, DJ Lagway while in Gainesville

USA Today

15 hours ago

Former Florida quarterback Anthony Richardson sees his alma mater making some noise in the 2025-26 College Football Playoffs with DJ Lagway leading the program.
Richardson, a third-year starter for the Indianapolis Colts, was back in Gainesville last weekend for his Read Like a Gator initiative with the Boys & Girls Club of Northeast Florida. Children aged 6 to 16 participated in a free football skills academy featuring Richardson, as well as other NFL players and a handful of Florida Gators players. While he was there to help with the community event, Richardson naturally took time to comment on the program he's followed since he was a kid in Gainesville.
"I'm actually looking forward to them running the playoffs this year," Richardson said of Florida. "So, I feel like they're gonna turn it around. It only takes a matter of time and the right plays a game, so, I trust in (Napier) and I believe in him."
Richardson was there for the first year of the Billy Napier era in Gainesville and can't help but feel proud of his former coach for weathering the storm and ending Year 3 with one of the hottest teams in the country.
"He's always been focused on winning," he said. "Whether that's having those rough couple of years, especially the first year when I was there, we were looking forward to having something better than what we produced. But he's been sticking through it, sticking through all the fire, and last year they had a pretty good season.
Anthony Richardson weighs in on DJ Lagway
Like most of the college football world, Richardson is high on Florida quarterback DJ Lagway. While it's natural to support someone a generation down the line of succession, Richardson had some genuine praise for the sophomore's big arm.
"He's a great player, "Richardson said of Lagway. "I like watching him ball ... I don't really bother him too much because he's already doing great things … He's young right now, but you can't really tell. He doesn't act his age at all. He's a phenomenal leader and I've never seen him really get too high or too low on himself, he's always trying to work. He's always asking me questions about how to get better and do certain things, and I always tell him, 'Man, just keep doing you and just keep working. Everything's going to take care of itself.'"
Richardson also conceded that Lagway might already have as strong an arm as him.
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