For the fifth time in 11 Gators games this season, the Detroit Lions had an official scouting presence for a game involving the University of Florida football team.
The Lions were among the handful of NFL teams credentialed at Vanderbilt on Saturday for the Commodores game against the visiting Gators. With Vanderbilt relatively light on prospects and at least two Gators commonly projected as top-50 overall talents at positions where the Lions figure to have draft interest, it’s easy to understand the appeal of the game in Nashville.
The primary Gators of interest are QB Anthony Richardson, OG O’Cyrus Torrance and LB Ventrell Miller, though that’s far from a complete list.
Scouts from #Cardinals, #Falcons, #Lions, #Chargers (x2), #Titans (x2) expected at Florida vs. Vanderbilt today.
Fifth UF game for Detroit this year, of note.
— Zach Goodall (@zach_goodall) November 19, 2022
It wasn’t the greatest display for Richardson or Miller. The promising quarterback, making just his 12th career start, had an uneven game. He threw for 400 yards and three touchdowns but also had a bad interception and two throws batted down in Florida’s surprising 31-24 loss. It was just Vanderbilt’s second conference win in the last four years.
Miller, commonly projected as a Day 3 linebacker, was ejected from the game for targeting. He will miss the first half of next week’s rivalry game against Florida State after the (obvious) helmet-to-helmet hit. Miller did force a fumble before his departure.
On the Vanderbilt side, running back Ray Davis topped 100 yards on the ground for the fifth time in eight games. The transfer from Temple has a similar style and build to Detroit’s Craig Reynolds. Linebacker Anfernee Orji, a late-round/UDFA prospect, racked up eight tackles and was strong in coverage.
