Florida QB Anthony Richardson Declares For NFL Draft

Florida Gators QB Anthony Richardson is entering the NFL Draft.

The sophomore signal-caller announced his decision on Twitter Monday afternoon in a lengthy post that ended with him declaring his intention to forgo Florida's upcoming bowl game, his junior year and enter next year's draft.

Anthony Richardson could be NFL Draft's most compelling player

Richardson had an extremely up and down final season with the Gators, starting with an upset win over No. 7 Utah on the first Saturday of the fall that immediately propelled him into the Heisman race.

Unfortunately, that would be Richardson's - and Florida's - best game of the season.

The Gators would go on to lose the following week against Kentucky, barely squeak by USF the next week, and end the season with back-to-back losses to Vanderbilt and FSU.

Richardson started all 12 games for the Gators this fall, finishing with 2,549 yards, 17 touchdown passes and nine interceptions. He also used his gigantic, 6-4, 234-pound frame to run for 654 yards and nine scores.

It's that frame - including his rocket arm - that could make the raw signal-caller one of the most intriguing, yet risky, prospects in the NFL Draft.

Some experts see Richardson as first round talent, including a recent CBS Sports mock draft that had him going 17th to the New York Giants with "all-Pro upside."

Another mock draft over the weekend from Pro Football Network even had Richardson as the No. 1 overall pick and going to the Houston Texans.

"Richardson brings legitimacy to the term 'generational upside,'" the site wrote.

With Richardson opting out of Florida's Dec. 17 bowl game against Oregon State, and Jalen Kitna no longer on the roster after his recent arrest, the Gators are left with just two scholarship quarterbacks on their roster: sophomore Jack Miller and true freshman Max Brown.

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Zach grew up in Florida, lives in Florida, and will never leave Florida ... for obvious reasons. He's a reigning fantasy football league champion, knows everything there is to know about NASCAR, and once passed out (briefly!) during a lap around Daytona. He swears they were going 200 mph even though they clearly were not.