UF quarterback’s storybook season
Rapidly rising Trask looks to keep momentum going against rival Georgia in SEC East showdown.
GAINESVILLE — Quarterback Kyle Trask said he focuses each week on improving one thing. On Monday, the redshirt junior was not sure what the focal point would be leading to Saturday’s SEC East showdown against Georgia.
“We will figure it out on the practice field,” he said.
The list of choices is getting shorter and shorter as Trask continues his rapid growth and unexpected ascension from little-used backup to rock-solid starter for the sixth-ranked Gators (7-1, 4-1 SEC).
Each week has been a new experience for Trask, who will be making his first start in his team’s heated rivalry with the No. 8 Bulldogs (6-1, 3-1). Along the way, the 21-year-old has yet to look
overwhelmed or out of his element at the helm of the SEC’s third-ranked passing offense (277.2 yards per game).
“Kyle’s done a tremendous job of coming in and taking over and not skipping a beat,” Georgia coach Kirby Smart said.
In fact, Trask might be the least of UF’s worries against Georgia, a recent development at the critical position for the Gators.
Since the days of Tim Tebow a decade ago, UF’s situation under center has been tenuous at this time of year, putting extra emphasis on the run game and tremendous strain on the defense.
While it was enough to deliver a few nice wins, the Gators are 4-5 in the series since Tebow’s final season, in 2009, after winning the previous 10 of 12 games with the Bulldogs. Shaky quarterback play was UF’s undoing the previous two times it was ranked in the top 10 while facing Georgia — in 2012 when Jeff Driskel committed four turnovers and a season ago when Feleipe Franks managed just 105 passing yards.
Trask’s teammates trust him to remain a calm, dependable, productive presence while distributing the ball to the Gators’ host of playmakers Saturday in Jacksonville’s TIAA Bank Field.
“Kyle’s always been the guy who is poised and calm for the most part. He doesn’t really let his emotions come out until game day,” senior receiver Josh Hammond said. “He definitely keeps it under wraps, and he stays calm and makes sure everybody else is calm and just tries to go and execute and does his job and try to put us in the position to be successful.”
Trask is confident he and the Gators will be put in a position to succeed by UF coach Dan Mullen, known for his play-calling acumen and ability to develop quarterbacks.
“Coach Mullen was going to put in this game plan that we can expose, because we also have a lot of great athletes and get some good matchups,” Trask said. “Hopefully, we’ll do a good job moving the ball down the field with coach Mullen’s game plan. I think he’s one of the most brilliant coaches in college football, and I’m sure he’ll set us off on the right foot.”
Trask had to hit the ground running for the Gators, stepping in for the injured Franks on Sept. 14 at Kentucky and completing his first four throws to ignite a 19-point fourth quarter during a comeback win on the road.
The performance was the first chapter in one of the most unexpected stories in college football this season.
Trask had not previously started a game since the ninth grade, but the lack of experience rarely showed. When it did, he proved to be a quick learner.
Since fumbling three times during an Oct. 5 victory against Auburn, Trask has not coughed up the ball once.
Trask did suffer a critical, fourth-quarter end-zone interception during a 42-28 loss at LSU. A week later during a comeback win at South Carolina, Trask set up a Gamecocks touchdown with an interception early in the second half. Undeterred, Trask picked up key third downs with short runs, bought time with his feet to complete a 9-yard pass on 4th-and-3 with UF trailing 20-17 and ended the day with a career-high four touchdowns, including three during the fourth quarter.
Put it all together and Trask has completed 63.9% of his throws, averaged 8.1 yards per attempt and posted a touchdown-to-interception ratio of 11-to-4 during five SEC games. While those numbers will not put him in the Heisman conversation, Trask is performing as well as any Florida quarterback in quite a while.
With the SEC East lead on the line against Georgia, Trask will face his most pressure-packed challenge to date. Based on the past six weeks, there is little reason to think Trask is not equipped to handle it.
“This game’s going to be a big environment,” he said. “I’ve obviously been in big environments before after playing games like that. I think that’ll just give me that extra confidence going into a week like this.”