Best college plays from Anthony Richardson that will get Colts fans excited

The Indianapolis Colts took a chance on the polarizing Anthony Richardson. He has the potential to be Indy’s next franchise quarterback.

After almost a half-decade of turnover at the league's most important position, the Indianapolis Colts are finally hopeful to establish some continuity at starting quarterback as they look to turn Florida's Anthony Richardson into their next franchise QB.

Colts general manager Chris Ballard was quoted when discussing the optics surrounding the fourth-overall pick amidst the Scouting Combine's media session(s) saying, "I think we'll get the best player in the draft to be quite honest with you." This isn't to fit a narrative, but rather, to showcase just how highly NFL executives and scouts view Richardson as a prospect.

Richardson's lackluster completion percentage (53.8%) is certainly something left to be desired, but it's almost exclusively used as an end-all-be-all analysis as to why he's not worthy of a top-10 selection. As a reminder, when analyzing and projecting a prospect's impact from college to the league, merely sifting through box scores and raw numbers is malpractice for the evaluation process.

Being paired with the young, offensive-minded phenom that is new Colts HC Shane Steichen, the guy who turned Jalen Hurts and his uninspiring accuracy into an MVP candidate, should bode extremely well for Richardson and his similar faults.

Anthony Richardson not only proved he possesses the traits, athleticism, and mental fortitude necessary for an NFL translation, but he showcased immense improvement over the latter half of his one season as a starting QB in the SEC. In a 12-game season, Richardson's improvement as a passer throughout the year was evident. So much so that his first six games compared to his last six were a night and day comparison, at least as far as generic production goes:

First six Weeks: 5 touchdowns, 7 interceptions

Last six Weeks: 12 touchdowns, 2 interceptions (a stretch which met four ranked opponents)

Obviously there are examples throughout history where any QB has turned it around at the halfway point of the season in which they declared, however, when you're already betting on a youthful prospect as 'raw' as Richardson, any improvement regrardless of sample size is necessary to consider.

Richardson's lone full season as a starter was additionally diffcult to adapt to given he was thrown into a new offensive scheme from a season ago. Not to mention, his supporting cast of pass catchers were objectively a weaker group. Despite these factors, Richardson was able to grow and prove his worth during his 2022 campaign as a 20-year-old quarterback in the SEC.

With any new quarterback that is drafted, all of the fans of his new team are itching for one thing and one thing only, and it's not thoroughly researched analysis, it's the highlights. So without further ado, let's take a look at Anthony Richardson's best plays during his college career.

5. The 2-pt conversion seen around the world (vs. No. 7 Utah)

I mean, no wonder he calls himself an alien. This young man, to make the score a three-point game on a 2-pt conversion attempt, casually jumps, pump-fakes in mid-air, and makes the defender look silly as he establishes his balance. After this leaves the rest of the Utah defense entranced, he rolls right and delivers an absolute strike to his receiver who had pitched a tent in the endzone because he was that wide open.

Sure, you can make the argument that this would never happen in the NFL, yet we see play after play, year after year where someone does something that wholefully refutes that. This isn't to guarantee Richardson will be making NFL defenders look silly, but I'm certainly suggesting that if anyone has the potential to do so on a regular basis, whose name isn't Patrick Mahomes, it's him.

I'm sure you know by now, but if you don't, Anthony Richardson is the most athletic QB prospect of all-time. That is not an overexaggeration, nor is it hyperbole. According to Kent Lee Platte's Relative Athletic Score, Richardson came away with a RAS of 10.0 -- the most athletic prosect to date -- at the quarterback position.

Some people call him a unicorn, he calls himself an alien, but what is he? A true 1-of-1 -- so much so that he just got the phrase tattooed on him recently. Like a limited edition trading card, Anthony Richardson has the potential to be a quarterback unlike anything we've ever seen before.

4. Anthony Richardson zips one down the sideline for a big touchdown (@ No. 1 Georgia)

A few things with this one. As the header alludes to, this big-time touchdown came during a third-quarter rally from the Gators as Anthony Richardson and Co. came out swinging, quickly cutting the halftime deficit of 28-3 to a one possession game.

After the Gators scored 17 unanswered to start the second half, the best ranked team in the country, and the eventual back-to-back National Champion, the Georgia Bulldogs would go on to score 14 unanswered points of their own, ultimately winning 42-20. The poised resilience by Richardson in the third quarter alone proves to hold hopeful merit.

The best part about this play to me is just how patient Richardson stays so that the route combo can develop. The backside featured three players setting up what seems like a designed bubble-and-block concept, but Richardson never takes his eyes away from the two routes on the right side, thus you're led to assume the backside was never in question after all.

Regardless if Richardson was in the wrong with his lack of progression-seeking on the play, if you look at it as if the play design forced his eyes to neglect the backside, then you've got a near perfect execution on your hands. Great poise, ideal patience, and a tremendous strike down the sideline en route to six points.

3. Anthony Richardson evades pressure and delivers an off-platform TD strike (@ Texas A&M)

Even though the Aggies only had three down lineman pre-snap, they ended up sending five. Both outside blitzes appeared to have gotten home early, but Richardson calmy senses it while keeping his eyes downfield, steps up in the pocket and delivers a strike to the right side while fading to his left.

Richardson's pocket presence is among the best in the class, yet his off-platform, unorthodox throws are, dare I say it, Mahomes-esque. What's between his ears is what separates him from being just another raw, athletic prospect. This being his big brain which exudes football IQ.

Richardson showcases numerous positives on this play. His ability to diagnose the play both pre- and post-snap. His calmness as he climbs the pocket, and his conviction to trust in his insticts as he keeps his eyes downfield, ultimately turning a collapsed pocket into a flashy touchdown.

2. Anthony Richardson's continued pocket climb induces shock and awe (@ No. 11 Tennessee)

This should be everyone's favorite play of his. Richardson doesn't climb the pocket once, or twice, or even three times. He feels the pressure and in zig-zag fashion, climbs the pocket four separate times as he delivers a body-twisting 25-yard throw to an open receiver who eventually scores.

As unreal as this play was, what you should be coming away with is that there are a ton of quarterbacks out there, regardless of level of play, who are unable to make such a play due to physical limitations. As previously mentioned, there's quite literally nobody who is physically limitless like Anthony Richardson.

For this play, his overall awareness paired with his instinctual ability to operate the pocket as he sees fit is truly fascinating. Often with raw quarterbacks of a similar vein, they have all the physical tools (i.e., arm talent) but they lack the fundamentals of QB-play, such as pocket presence/awareness. That is not the case for Richardson however, as he's merely flirted with what's possible.

1. Anthony Richardson breaks off a video-game touchdown run (vs. LSU)

This is the play I'm assuming most people think of when they hear Anthony Richardson. Yes, I'll admit, the first time seeing this play I thought to myself, "great run but that's some abysmal tackling on display." Here's the thing, both can be true. Let's choose to appreciate the incredible touchdown as opposed to discredit him for a lacksidaisical effort from his opponents.

Richardson drops back, doesn't like what he sees and takes off. Likely getting the first down anyways, that wasn't enough for him. As you can tell from the score, the Gators trailed the Tigers by 21 points entering the fourth quarter. By any means necessary, Richardson willed himself into the end zone to hopefully spark a comeback because as we all know, no game's ever truly over until you see triple zeroes.

Obviously the quarterback position is known for the passing of the pigskin, but his alienistic athleticism mixed with his rushing prowess is an almost league-breaking trait to have given the recent change in direction from the league's best quarterbacks (i.e., Allen, Hurts, Jackson, Mahomes, etc). It's not only a passing league nowadays, but it's a league where its most productive quarterbacks are also threats on the ground.

Anthony Richardson is by no means a shoo-in for a successful NFL career, however, his unprecedented traits, build, and talent at just 20 years old opens the book full of possibilities. He presents one of the most interesting possibilities of boom-or-bust career arcs in recent memory, quite possibly of all-time. He's either going to be a bust, which many first-round QB selections are, or, he could blossom into one of the only QBs in the league who can go toe-to-toe with Patrick Mahomes. Only time will tell, but the intrigue alone warrants the experiment.

READ MORE: Grading all 12 picks for the Colts in 2023 NFL Draft