The script being written by Kyle Trask was one that could only exist in the mind of a young boy running around in his backyard. The story that played out in 2020 couldn’t have been written by the most creative author. No Hollywood mogul would’ve produced it, wanting to avoid the scoffs of a saccharine script. No coach would’ve promised it, knowing the smallest likelihood wasn’t possible.

The two-star quarterback who was mulling over a scholarship offer from Houston Baptist before Florida came calling and who, prior to 2019, last started a game on his high school’s freshman team, broke a foot and tore a ligament in his knee in back-to-back years, and almost earned a degree before ever starting a game had turned himself into a Heisman finalist. He shattered records held by the embronzed quarterbacks he has walked by for five years outside of Ben Hill Griffin Stadium.

Trask leads the nation in touchdown passes (43), passing yards (4,283), and yards-per-game (356.9) — which is also a new school record.

“I couldn't be prouder of him and the season that he had with our team this year. A special, special year for him. Coming out of what he was able to accomplish during the course of this year, I thought was special,” Dan Mullen said after the Cotton Bowl. “I mean, you're talking about a young guy that comes in, I think only played a couple plays in his career before he even graduated college. Didn't play much in high school. And now he's a Heisman Trophy finalist, and he's going to be an NFL draft pick. So that says a lot about him.”

Saturday night, in what could be his final game in Orange and Blue, was as unceremonious an end as anyone could have.

Before the game Florida had its top-three pass-catchers decide to forego the bowl game and get ready for the NFL Draft. The day the Gators were set to leave for the Cotton Bowl the fourth-leading receiver, Jacob Copeland, tested positive for COVID-19 and didn’t make the trip.

And even though the decision to follow suit would have been understood by all, there was no keeping Trask off the field on Saturday. He’d watched the Gators play games for four years, when given the opportunity to play rather than watch — even with a skeleton crew around him on offense — what did you expect Trask would do?

Compounding the difficulty level was a short turnaround after the SEC Championship game. Mullen gave the team a much-needed break after playing eight consecutive weekends against SEC opponents. They were off from December 20-25, returning after Christmas with only three practices to get ready to face a tough Oklahoma defense.

"It obviously was a little more challenging. I mean, when you just, you think about it, you've got a whole off-season to get timing down with that group of guys. And we essentially had about two or three days to get the timing down,” Trask said after the game. “Since we had so many opt-outs, we only had about two or three days of practice to get the timing down with the next guys up.”

“That's not making excuses or anything, but that's just the amount of work that goes into this, you don't just flip a switch and everything, you end up in end zone. It takes a lot of work to get there.”

You cannot flip a switch. The timing on routes wasn’t there and Oklahoma made Trask pay.

After a season of looking like a created character in a video game, Trask was pedestrian Wednesday, subliming to a season full of stress, adversity, and, now, finally, opt-outs. It was an uphill battle.

Trask finished the game just 16-of-28 with no touchdowns and three interceptions, one of which was returned for a touchdown. In the blink of an eye his fairytale turned Greek tragedy.

However, Trask’s legacy was not written in Dallas at AT&T Stadium. His story, his legacy, despite the unceremonious finale, has been written over the course of the last 474 days.

Trask will be remembered for putting together one of the best single seasons any Florida Gator quarterback has ever composed. He’ll be remembered for his loyalty, sticking with the team he committed to for four years without ever playing a meaningful down, let alone starting a game. He’ll be remembered as a leader, a Heisman finalist, and the consummate competitor.

“It's been a crazy journey here. It's just been a wild ride, and I've enjoyed every second of it,” Trask said.

“This isn't the way you want to go out, but when I look back on all the memories and friendships I made here, it's all worth it.”