Florida Gators

GAINESVILLE, Fla. – In the final moments before kickoff Saturday night from his perch inside the television booth at Tiger Stadium, ESPN analyst Kirk Herbstreit turned his attention to Gators quarterback Kyle Trask, making his first career road start.

A former quarterback at Ohio State, Herbstreit's college career played out similar to the way Trask's has. It wasn't until his fourth year with the Buckeyes in 1992 that Herbstreit finally became the regular starter. He led Ohio State to an eight-win season and bowl berth that year, but Herbstreit's future was outside the lines. More than 25 years later, he is considered one of college football's top TV analysts.

As Herbstreit made his final pregame pitch to viewers Saturday, he told them where he would be looking. Right at Trask, a redshirt junior who had never played in as hostile a setting as Death Valley.

"I want to look at his eyes early in this game, see if the moment and the noise and all the distractions affect him and the communication of this offense,'' Herbstreit said.

Trask and the Gators spent the next three-plus hours proving to anyone who had the same questions as Herbstreit that they could handle the circumstances and compete with one of the best teams in the country in one of the loudest stadiums. Despite losing for the first time this season, the Gators left Baton Rouge with more respect than they had when they arrived.

Same for Trask, who passed for a career-high 310 yards, three touchdowns and an interception in what turned into a shootout with Tigers quarterback Joe Burrow for most of the night.

"They did a great job of controlling the tempo," Burrow said after leading the Tigers to a 42-28 win. "I think that was probably their plan coming in, keep the ball away from us. They did a really good job of that. I thought Kyle Trask played really well."

Burrow won't get much of an argument in his Trask assessment.

In fact, in four career starts, Trask's passing numbers stack up favorably when compared to every other Gators quarterback with at least four starts over the past 20 years (chart below, research by Zach Dirlam of UAA Communications).
 

PLAYER	COMP.	ATT.	PCT.	YARDS	TD	INT	W-L
Kyle Trask	80	118	67.8	1,025	9	3	3-1
Feleipe Franks	40	65	61.5	480	3	1	2-2
Austin Appleby	66	105	62.9	785	6	2	3-1
Luke Del Rio	80	139	57.6	998	7	5	4-0
Will Grier	70	110	63.6	830	8	3	4-0
Treon Harris	25	50	50.0	464	3	0	3-1
Tyler Murphy	61	96	63.5	603	4	2	2-2
Jeff Driskel	53	75	70.7	645	3	1	4-0
Jacoby Brissett	30	51	58.8	324	1	3	2-2
John Brantley	73	114	64.0	700	6	1	4-0
Tim Tebow	65	95	68.4	1,096	10	1	4-0
Chris Leak	72	126	57.1	1,000	7	6	3-1
Ingle Martin	47	77	61.0	654	3	2	2-2
Rex Grossman	65	109	59.9	994	10	3	4-0

 
Trask has gone from a mystery when he came off the bench to replace Franks and lead the Gators to a comeback win at Kentucky, to one of the season's top stories. He added to his already appealing backstory when he suffered what at first appeared to be a serious knee injury against Auburn. Instead, he returned late in the first half and guided the Gators to their most significant win of the season thus far.

Next, ninth-ranked Florida (6-1, 3-1) seeks to rebound on Saturday at South Carolina (3-3, 2-2).

When Florida head coach Dan Mullen took over the program in 2018, he witnessed what others are just now seeing from Trask, a 6-foot-5, 239-pound former backup at Manvel High in Texas.

He might not have played much, but he prepares and he competes.

"I think what shows is the maturity he has and the preparation he's had over the last couple of years,'' Mullen said. "When his number is called, it's not like, 'OK, we got to hold back.' He's prepared himself to be the starting quarterback since the day that we got here."

Besides what he has done on the field, Trask has flashed leadership qualities that were hidden when he was buried down the depth chart. He plays with a burning fire underneath the laid-back demeanor he displays in casual conversation or around campus.

Trask showed that side of his personality on multiple occasions at LSU. Did you see the way he stormed onto the field leaping and yelling prior to kickoff? What about following touchdown drives, when cameras zoomed in on Trask on the sideline. Did you see him pacing like a tiger as the adrenaline pumped? Finally, once the Gators ran out of chances on their final drive, a frustrated Trask stared into the night sky before walking to the sideline and slamming his helmet.

Again, his teammates and coaches are used to that side of Trask. But like everyone else, not until recently did they begin to see it on Saturdays.

"He definitely gets fired up for live situations,'' senior receiver Josh Hammond said. "He [turns on] that switch when it's time to go. He handles adversity really well. Whether we are high or low, he tries to stay medium and just keep everybody's head above float."

Back home two days after the LSU loss, Trask stood in front of a room full of UF beat reporters. It was another new experience. He had not lost a game as Florida's starter and then had to talk about it.

No surprise, Trask was ready for whatever came his way. It's who he is.

"I think we showed a lot of good signs,'' he said. "Obviously, toward the end we could have done a better job of scoring touchdowns in the red zone. I think we showed a lot of good signs of being able to execute and play pretty solid in a hostile environment. That gives us a lot of confidence moving forward."

The secret is out about Trask. He can play.

Back to Herbstreit on Saturday night in that TV booth at Tiger Stadium. As ESPN prepared to close the broadcast, Herbstreit provided a few final thoughts.

Like others, Trask and the Gators made a believer out of him. He won't be surprised to see them go on to big things deeper in the season.

"Kyle Trask, very well-prepared,'' Herbstreit said. "They didn't come away with a win – and Dan Mullen is not into moral victories – but they should be proud of the way they played with some adversity."