Florida Georgia Tim Tebow Anthony Richardson

JACKSONVILLE, Fla. — SEC legend Tim Tebow and Georgia coach Kirby Smart agree on one thing: Anthony Richardson is key to Saturday’s rivalry game.

“So much of this game is going to come down to Anthony and his ability to take over,” Tebow said on Jacksonville’s 1010XL. “But I’d also say he needs a lot of help.”

Smart’s No. 1-ranked Bulldogs are a 23-point favorite over Florida in the annual rivalry game at 3:30 p.m. on Saturday at TIAA Bank Field.

But Smart has challenged his team all week by pointing out they have not played their best football, and Georgia has not played its toughest competition.

Bulldogs defensive tackle Zion Logue shared there’s a plan in place to make life difficult for Richardson.

“He is a physical runner, at 6-foot-3, 235 pounds, he loves to stiff arm, (and) he loves to make guys look silly on film,” Logue said. “We’ve got to rally to him and put a hat on him.

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“We know we have to keep him in a rut and keep him in a cage. We have trap him on the left side. We know he wants to get to his right so just doing little things like that to keep him in the pocket and let our guys cover.”

The Gators have three of the SEC’s top four rushers in the yards-per-carry category, and Richardson is one of them.

The Bulldogs have played just one Power 5 team that ranked in the Top 50 in the nation in rushing — Oregon — and the Ducks out-rushed them in that 49-3 Georgia win.

Smart has voiced his concerns about Richardson’s ability to make big plays.

“It’s the draws, the converted runs, where he takes off that he’s really elite at,” Smart said. “I mean, they’ve got some 60 and 70-yard runs that you might say is a designed run, but it’s not.

“It makes it really hard to defend because most coaches try to defend the pass by covering people and the worst thing you can do sometimes is cover everybody and this guy takes off because it puts your defense all spread out around the field.”

Tebow said he thinks the large point spread is based on games the Bulldogs played in September.

“One, that’s a compliment to Georgia on how dominant they have been and how talented they are, but I also think it’s based on the beginning of the season,” Tebow said. “and based on how they played against Oregon and how they played against South Carolina.”

Richardson is a projected first-round NFL draft pick, a more dangerous runner and passer than either Bo Nix or Spencer Rattler.

“Ultimately for Florida to win, you’ve got to have playmaking ability, and it’s got to start with A.R., he’s so talented and we’ve seen it so much,” Tebow said.

“Number one, he has to trust the system, and when he does he can play at a very high level,” Tebow said. “Number two, he has to throw darts, because we know there will be contested passes.”

Tebow pointed out how Kyle Trask made some big-time throws when the Gators beat Georgia 44-28 two years ago and had Kyle Pitts there to make contested catches.

“And remember how valuable the running backs were in that game?” Tebow said. “That was one area Dan (Mullen) was able to exploit with the wheel routes, it killed them.

“Can you implement a bit of what Dan did, and then (Richardson) has got to take over with his legs.”

SEC Network analyst Jordan Rodgers shared who some of the complimentary pieces might be for Richardson on Saturday.

“It starts with Montrell Johnson at running back, five-foot-11, 218 pounds, the dude squats 600 pounds,” Rodgers said. “That’s a lot of weight and it helps because all these jump cuts [are] really tough to bring down. He’s such a physical runner and when he gets in the open field, you’re like, ‘He’s probably going to run me over,’ right? He squats that much, but he’s also going to beat you with his feet. He runs over 21 miles per hour, so he can run you over, he breaks tackles, and he can run away from angles, as well.

“The guy on the outside, Justin Shorter, he might as well look like DK Metcalf, I swear. Six-foot-4, 223, he runs 22 miles per hour. To put that in perspective, last year, only four NFL players ran more than 22 miles per hour in a game. He can fly and with that big frame, he allows Anthony Richardson to put it anywhere.”

Richardson showed up for the Gator Walk Saturday wearing a loud pink suit, an indication he’s comfortable with the extra attention he will be receiving all day, for better or worse.