We are lucky to have him as a UF ambassador Kevin & Query, 107.5 The Fan - Hey Jake, I went to the Indiana Sports Corp luncheon on Tuesday where Ballard was the speaker. He told a story about Anthony Richardson and the NFL’s rookie orientation program. Troy Vincent of the NFL called Ballard after the draft to tell him what an impact Anthony Richardson had left on him at the orientation program. Specifically, at the dinner attended by all potential draftees, the room was left a mess. Everyone was leaving and Troy Vincent saw one person who stayed behind and was bussing tables before the staff came back in the room. Vincent walked up and approached him and said, ‘You don’t need to do this.’ To which Anthony Richardson responded, ‘We left this room in an unacceptable condition, and it’s not right for us to expect the staff to clean it all up." Vincent said that he was free to go, to which Richardson responded, "No it’s alright, I’d like to stay and help," and he did until the room was cleaned up entirely. And he was the last person working along with workers on the shift.”
Whether or not he played exceptional in his singular season as a starter, Florida would benefit with AR - the hometown kid - to succeed in the NFL. Stories like this could be the beginning of a special professional career...
That’s why it’s cringe to come in this site and see reckless comments about AR’s character, like quitting on the team, not willing to run… etc. That kind of negativity should come from other team’s fanbases, not ours.
He ran , what, 8 times a game. It’s not hating on him, it’s just facts. Some games he chose not to run when the opportunity was there. I said I thought he was hurt multiple times. Maybe he was , maybe he wasn’t. maybe he was protecting himself for the NFL. A lot of money at stake, most people would.
He's a good kid who was in a tough situation at UF. I don't blame him. Clearly he made the right decision based on his draft position. I think it speaks well about him and UF that his character is what ultimately sold the Colts on him.
Especially when it's baseless. Plenty of opportunities to be a crybaby and he never did. Backed Emory all the way to the end. Everything I'm hearing is that this is why the Colts rolled the dice.
I said the same thing, I do think he played some games injured and that's why he chose not to run... Vandy game comes to mind.
Why cast aspersions if there is no evidence to support it was intentional, or by his doing? I understand the speculation, but typically, you look after your own. It just looks bad when Gator Alumni and fans are piling on.
There’s just what we see but we don’t know why. We could pretend we didn’t see it I guess. He’s a great kid and I hope he has a hof fame career but last year was what it was.
I did not see what you all are alleging. If I had just watched the games and never came to this forum or rest comments on Twitter, I’d have never even thought people would say AR wasn’t trying or was unwilling to run. I would have just guessed that he was doing what the coaching staff wanted him to do. So no… last year wasn’t what it was with the twist you are putting on it. You are seeing what you are projecting. Confirmation bias.
Disagree. If you didn’t see AR pass up the multiple opportunities to run for at least 10 yards - to the point of yelling at the TV “run the damn ball AR!”, then we were watching different teams. We will never know his reasoning, but to deny the obvious is just silly - or you didn’t watch as many games as I did.
So you hit me with bacon just to repeat what I said. Can't make this up. I said we don't know why he did or didn't run, so no reason to throw out negativity against our own. Did I say he ran every time possible? No, I did not. You should remove the bacon if you have integrity.
Read Napier’s quote where he said he has the option to run when he wants. It was up to AR to pass or run on mini plays and he made those choices. We don’t know whether it was because he was hurt or because he was protecting himself, but it was very obvious that he had options to run where he chose to pass.
If I have integrity I’ll say I agree with you? LMAO I didn’t give you a come on man or a dislike - I gave you a disagree. I’m hardly “repeating what you said” — in fact, I’m agreeing with @Wanne15. AR’s refusal to run last season was obvious and frustrating. You’re denying you ever saw it happen. That’s what I’m disagreeing with. It was obvious in almost every game after Utah. I’m also disagreeing with your smartass “confirmation bias” quip. So that’s why you got 2 pieces of bacon I think it’s always best to give the kid the benefit of the doubt. So rather than assume the worst, let’s assume the best intentions and best effort for AR. Now, are you willing to give Billy Napier the same loyalty?
You can throw out negativity and question the effort of players, just make sure you don’t say anything about the coaches lol
