Franks, Trask feel more comfortable operating Florida's offense
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While Luke Del Rio and Austin Appleby battled for the starting quarterback job throughout much of last offseason – and then both veteran signal-callers saw all of the snaps last season – 2016 spring semester enrollees Feleipe Franks and Kyle Trask waited in the wings and eventually were set on the redshirting path.
But with Appleby graduating and Del Rio sidelined after two shoulder surgeries this offseason, both Franks and Trask have been front and center this spring.
Although Franks, a former four-star recruit, currently has the perceived edge in the battle over Trask at this juncture, the competition is far from over. It’s the third straight spring the Gators have watched two main candidates at the quarterback position battle it out to get ahead, but once again it’s been a friendly but competitive race between Jim McElwain’s top two options at the position.
“We’re really good buddies,” Franks said of Trask. “I think we help each other every day. Like they say, iron sharpens iron and it's only going to get each one of us, not just me and Kyle, but everyone on the team, better. So we're out there competing every day and it's only going to get each and every one of us better.
“It’s important to have that on-field help. Me and him helping each on the field and then as well as off the field. Me and him just helping each other and being there for each other. It’s not what people make it to be - hatred. It’s a friendship that could possibly last for a lifetime. It’s really fun."
Added Trask: "We have a great relationship. Sometimes on weekends, we'll go shoot hoops. We're always hanging out, playing ping pong. We haven't had any tension. Because we both early enrolled, we've gotten close ever since."
Both Franks and Trask have alternated with the 1’s and 2’s throughout the spring, but Franks has seen reps with the first-string offense during 11-on-11 fastball in Florida’s last two spring practice portions open to the media. Last season when Del Rio went down at different points in the season with knee and shoulder injuries, Florida turned to Franks as the primary backup option to Appleby. However, the Gators never needed to burn his redshirt.
The strides Franks made from the spring game, where he threw three interceptions on his first four pass attempts, to the 2016 regular season were evident. Sporting a cannon of an arm, Franks sometimes was reckless with his decision-making and tried to force throws that maybe weren’t there to be made.
“I think it was a case of me just not coming in and getting comfortable with everybody,” Franks said. “Being here a season, redshirting, it was really good for me, getting to know the players, getting to know the offense, knowing how things operate around here at Florida. It’s been really good for me.
“Everything's clicking, everything's rolling, so it's a lot more fun to go out there and just play the game."
In the early goings of practice, the 6-foot-6, 219-pound Franks has displayed plenty of confidence leading the huddle while stepping into more of a leadership role with the offense. He feels that he’s settled into his role while gaining better command of the huddle.
“I'd say I feel a lot more comfortable just under the center, doing everything I did last year now. I just feel a lot more comfortable. A ton more,” Franks said. “I mean, I believe in myself. I have the most confidence in the world in every throw that I make. That's the mindset I go into for a game. And then, I mean like I said, I have all the confidence in the world in myself and I'll keep that."
Meanwhile, the 6-foot-4, 238-pound Trask, a backup at Manvel (Texas) High School and a former two-star, has benefitted from receiving more beneficial snaps in practices with the Gators this spring.
"It's definitely a big step up and that's also something I've been trying to focus on, adjusting to the speed of the game ever since I stepped on campus. And I feel like since a year ago, I feel a lot more confident in the speed of the game."
A polisher passer with impressive tools, Trask feels like he’s becoming more confident operating at the line of scrimmage than a year ago. Players have mentioned before that Trask can be quiet at times, so the redshirt freshman quarterback has made an effort to be more vocal in the huddle.
“I feel like that’s really important because the whole offense looks to you. You gotta be confident. Your energy reflects on everybody,” Trask said. “I think it just comes with reps. At first your going to be a little shaky, a little hesitant but after reps you kind of pick it up, you’re more confident in what your doing.”
Trask believes sitting behind Del Rio and Appleby last season was a beneficial experience.
"I think redshirting was a good thing for me to kind of sit back and watch Luke and Austin with all their experience and how they approach the game,” Trask said. "You could see how working on command at the line of scrimmage, you could tell they were experienced. As they approached the line of scrimmage, they were telling people where to go. I was trying to pick away at their brain and just try to get that into my game."
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