Gators clinch 11 Gators QB not best in college football, but his story may be
MIAMI GARDENS — A few nights ago, the best quarterbacks in college football — the transferring trio of LSU’s Joe Burrow, Oklahoma’s Jalen Hurts and Ohio State’s Justin Fields — all were on the national stage during the College Football Playoff.
On Monday night, the best quarterback story in college football — the non-transferring Kyle Trask of the Florida Gators — got his chance at postseason prominence during UF’s Orange Bowl matchup with Virginia.
This isn’t to say that Trask did it the right way by sticking it out at Florida while Burrow, Hurts and Fields did it the wrong way by transferring from their original schools (Ohio State, Alabama and Georgia). To suggest such a thing would be the other side of stupid considering the transferring trio finished 1-2-3 in the Heisman balloting and led their teams into the national championship tournament.
However, you have to admit that Trask’s story seems a bit more admirable in this social media world, where patience, persistence and perseverance sometimes last only as long as it
takes to dispatch your next Instagram post.
Trask’s story seems almost too good to be true.
Through four years, two head coaches and one interim head coach, Trask was mired on the bench while Florida’s offense mostly struggled behind mediocre-to-bad quarterback play. He waited and waited and waited while more highly recruited quarterbacks played until, finally, Trask was inserted into the starting lineup earlier this season — but only after starter Feleipe Franks suffered a seasonending broken ankle. Trask stepped in and the offense took off, even though he hadn’t started a game since his freshman year of high school.
Trask has played so well and become so popular that Franks announced a few weeks ago that he is transferring. The question is what will happen with Emory Jones, the highly recruited dual-threat QB whom coach Dan Mullen recruited to be the quarterback of the future but now is the backup quarterback of the present.
Mullen has hinted that Trask and Jones will compete for the starting quarterback position next season, but we all know this is ridiculous. Trask, barring injury, should be the starter heading into his senior season.
With barely any help from one of the worst running games in America (Florida is ranked 119th out of 130 teams in rushing yards), Trask has almost single-handedly carried UF’s offense this season. He has 24 touchdowns and six interceptions while ranking 13th nationally in passing efficiency.
Mullen has tried to keep Jones happy by inserting him into the lineup and giving him meaningful snaps during certain points of each game. Mullen is undoubtedly hoping Jones will tear a page from Trask’s playbook, stick it out and avoid the transfer portal no matter what happens next season.
“Most positions on the field, you get the opportunity that you’re going to rotate or go play,” Mullen says. “So as you’re preparing for the game, you sit there and say, ‘I might only play 15 to 20 plays this week, but if I really play well and work hard, I might get 20 to 25 next week.’ As the backup quarterback you’re sitting there saying, ‘Hey, I don’t know if I’m going to get opportunities, but I’ve always got to be ready just in case that happens.’
“And one of the most impressive things Kyle did is he continued to do that throughout his career. So when his number was called, he was completely prepared for that moment and that opportunity to go take advantage of it.
“I think one of the great things Emory has learned from looking at a guy like Kyle is seeing how Kyle prepared and how he continued to grow and develop to be ready to go play at an extremely high level.”
And maybe too Jones will learn from Trask that he’s not just in college to play football but also to —
don’t laugh!!! — get an education. Trask never wanted to transfer because he wanted to actually get a college degree (in sports management) from UF. He graduated in December and now is pursuing a master’s degree.
“The transfer portal is a huge deal in college football, but this is a top-10 academic university,” Trask says. “I had no intentions of leaving. I’ve always wanted to be a Gator.”
Imagine that: always wanting to be a Gator in a transient college football era when most quarterbacks would have simply said, “Later, Gator.”
Be true to your school. Love and loyalty to the university you committed to out of high school.
There may be better quarterbacks in college football, but there are no better stories than Kyle Trask.
Email me at mbianchi@orlandosentinel.com. Hit me up on Twitter @BianchiWrites and listen to my Open Mike radio show every weekday from 6 to 9 a.m. on FM 96.9 and AM 740.