Florida Gators QB Kyle Trask exits 2019 in Orange Bowl the way he entered it: a winner
Kyle Trask on Monday night entered the Capital One Orange Bowl at Hard Rock Stadium not as the unknown quarterback whose only significant playing time was as a freshman — a high school freshman — at Manvell High School in Texas.
He came in as the steady, stalwart leader of the Florida Gators, the 6-5, 234-pound redshirt junior who transitioned to a hero way back on Sept. 14, when 2019 UF starter Feleipe Franks badly injured his ankle against Kentucky, marking Trask’s gateway to the big time.
Except for one blip that led to a Virginia touchdown on the next play and turned into his seventh interception of the season, Trask ended 2019 as steadily as he began it, this time for a 36-27 Florida win for the Gators’ first 11-win season since 2012.
Though Orange Bowl MVP Lamical Perine drew the attention with his season-high 138 yards rushing for two touchdowns on 13 carries, a 10.6-yards-per-carry average, Trask’s steadiness and poise kept the Gators ahead the entire game.
Trask, a redshirt junior who in 2020 will be the Gators’ senior leader, finished 24 of 39 (61.5 percent) for 305 yards and one touchdown against the Cavaliers, with the pick. It was his fourth 300-yard game, the others against LSU, Vanderbilt and Florida State.
Trask also ran eight times for 37 yards and a 1-yard touchdown in the fourth quarter to all but ensure the victory.
“Even his interception was a really good throw,’’ said UF coach Dan Mullen. “The kid made a heck of a play on the ball. So I thought he made great decisions, managed. They gave a lot of different looks. They were dropping a lot of guys into coverage. He did a great job checking us into the right plays, managing the game through four quarters. But you know what? That’s what he’s done all year.
“If a young person wants a role model they can look to the guy to my left right now — a guy that, maybe life didn’t seem to be going the way that maybe you wanted it to go in high school. He still was given an opportunity. He worked his tail off. Maybe it wasn’t going the way he thought it would go in college, but he didn’t worry about that. He worked his tail off and then when he was given an opportunity he was completely prepared.
“In today’s world we live in such an instant gratification world. I want it now. I want it now. I want it now. The path to success is not a quick short journey. The path to success is a long journey.
“Kyle has really been successful this year in football, but those traits will show you that whenever football career ends for him, whenever that is, he still is going to be successful in life because of who he is and the type of man he is.”
Trask’s final 2019 numbers: 237 of 354 (66.9 percent) for 2,941 yards and 25 touchdowns, with seven interceptions.
“This game is huge for this program,’’ Trask said, “but also for this team and the seniors that bought in when Coach Mullen first got here from Day One. They worked day in and day out. As far as how my season went, I couldn’t be more happy the way that my teammates had my back when I went in at first against Kentucky. We just continued to grind every single week and get better each and every week.
“And now here we are, winning the Orange Bowl.
“That’s pretty incredible.’’
This story was originally published December 31, 2019 at 12:03 AM.
