GAINESVILLE, Fla.-- Kyle Trask has certainly picked up a few admirers in recent weeks.
“Kyle’s done a tremendous job of coming in and taking over and not skipping a beat,” Georgia coach Kirby Smart said on his SEC teleconference.
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Trask has done a great job stepping in to his role as Florida's starting quarterback.
The redshirt junior has completed 63.9% of his throws, averaged 8.1 yards per attempt and tallied 11 touchdowns and four interceptions.
Trask's calm, poised demeanor has earned the signal caller a few supporters in the locker room in big situations.
“Kyle’s always been the guy who is poised and calm for the most part. He doesn’t really let his emotions come out until game day,” senior receiver Josh Hammond said. “He definitely keeps it under wraps, and he stays calm and makes sure everybody else is calm and just tries to go and execute and does his job and try to put us in the position to be successful.”
It has been a steady progress for the signal caller from Texas. According to Trask, he focuses on fine tuning one area of his game every week.
"I think what I have improved on the most is being more consistent," explained Trask. "Obviously I wasn’t getting the reps at the beginning of the season and now I am getting more reps. I think that has helped me the most in my consistency."
"You don’t want to say, ‘Hey, here’s 15 things you’ve got to do’ because you won’t get any of them done. Here’s one or two. Let’s work at getting better,"Gators head coach Dan Mullen said. "Let’s work at getting better here. Whether it is where your left foot is. Whether it is here your eyes are before the snap. Just little things like that, and all of a sudden if you do that, you get those fixed. Once those are fixed, you’re constantly building, teaching and coaching.”
This approach has certainly worked with Trask.
Against Auburn the signal caller had some issues with pocket awareness- he was sacked four times, fumbling the ball three times. However, against LSU, just one week later, the Gators quarterback looked like a new quarterback inside the pocket.
Against South Carolina, he demonstrated his willingness to extend plays with his legs, sensing pressure earlier. In three games, Trask has already added new facets to his game.
"Mullen has really helped me on - making sure I got that clock in my head," explained Trask on the changes. "I think thats one of the things that he made me focus on. I feel like I have gotten better at that aspect."
With Trask at the helm, Florida is the SEC's third-ranked passing offense, averaging 277.2 yards per game.
During his time as Florida's starter, Trask has certainly played in some big environments. He has not only played in two top-ten showdowns, but he has played in one of the most hostile environments in college football and led two comebacks on the road.
"All the credit goes to the coaches, coach Mullen and his staff, for just progressing along with me," said Trask. "And making sure I am ready to go out there no matter what the stage is."
"He’s played in some tough road atmospheres. He’s played in some big games already," stated Mullen. "I feel pretty confident. He knows what he’s doing. I feel pretty confident.”
Florida's top ten showdown against Georgia certainly has a lot riding on it. The winner will be one step closer to the SEC Championship game, while college football playoffs discussions will certainly start around the victor.
The Bulldogs' secondary will provide some challenges for Trask, boasting some good talent with cornerback Eric Stokes and safety J.R. Reed leading the way.
“I think they’re very disciplined," said Trask. "They don’t give up a lot of free plays on busted coverages or anything like that. I think they play very smart, and they’re well-coached.”
"They’re talented. They got a veteran guy right there, No. 20 (J.R. Reed), he’s a good player," said receiver Van Jefferson. "You got some corners that are going to be good, we’re going to be tested. I think we’re up for the challenge. I think we’re just going to go out there and compete, compete at the highest level.
"You’re going to have to win your one-and-one battles."
The Gators could very well target the Bulldogs' defense up the middle. UGA struggled to control Notre Dame tight end Cole Kmet earlier in the year, with Kmet hauling nine catches for 108 yards and one touchdown. So one can only imagine that Mullen will dial up some plays with Kyle Pitts as a target for Trask.
“Coach Mullen was going to put in this game plan that we can expose, because we also have a lot of great athletes and get some good matchups,” Trask said. “Hopefully, we’ll do a good job moving the ball down the field with coach Mullen’s game plan. I think he’s one of the most brilliant coaches in college football, and I’m sure he’ll set us off on the right foot.”
Trask has certainly showed his ability to perform on the big stage.
On Saturday, the quarterback will look to cement himself in Florida-Georgia history.
“This game’s going to be a big environment,” Trask said. “I’ve obviously been in big environments before after playing games like that. I think that’ll just give me that extra confidence going into a week like this."
