The jump Dan Mullen’s QBs have made after one season of starting experience

Florida’s Kyle Trask is the top returning signal caller in the SEC after throwing for 2,941 yards and 25 touchdowns in 2019.

His passing yardage surpassed each of Tim Tebow's final two years — in two fewer games (12) both times — for the highest single-season total by a Gators quarterback since 2007, Tebow's Heisman season. Trask's four 300-yard passing games also tied Chris Leak for the most at UF since 2004.

National recruiting director Mike Farrell and national recruiting analyst Adam Gorney debated Tuesday whether Trask can make a Joe Burrow-like leap this fall. What kind of jump is he capable of in Year 2 as the starter?

Potentially a significant one, based on the history of Florida coach Dan Mullen. Every quarterback that has played under him not only improved the team’s record after one season of starting experience, but all except two increased their numbers. Some even had award-worthy campaigns and NFL careers.

In Mullen’s first year as a quarterbacks coach at Bowling Green, Harris took the starting job from junior Andy Sahm for the final three games of the 2001 season. The Falcons beat Ohio, Northwestern and Toledo with the sophomore QB, who threw for 826 yards and eight TDs, rushed for 361 yards and four TDs and caught a 14-yard TD pass. He had 1,022 passing yards for the year, led the team with 614 rushing yards and scored 17 total touchdowns (nine passing, eight rushing). Harris started all 12 games as a junior in 2002 and led Bowling Green to a 9-3 record, finishing with 2,425 passing yards, 19 touchdowns and 11 interceptions while rushing for 737 yards and 20 scores. He ranked second in the country in points responsible for that season.

In his first season under Mullen’s tutelage, Smith went 10-2 as a first-year starter and posted 2,247 passing yards, 15 touchdowns, three interceptions and a 65.0 percent completion rate along with 452 rushing yards and five scores. He doubled his passing and rushing TDs as a junior, threw for almost 3,000 yards and improved his QB rate from 152.3 to 176.5. Smith completed 67.5 percent of his pass attempts in 2004, finishing with 2,952 yards, 32 touchdowns and just four picks. He also rushed for 631 yards and 10 scores, leading the Utes to an undefeated season (12-0) while earning First Team All-American and Mountain West Conference Player of the Year honors. Smith finished fourth in voting for the 2004 Heisman Trophy and was selected first overall in the 2005 NFL Draft by the San Francisco 49ers.

Leak was already an accomplished passer prior to Mullen, but his position coach helped him become a champion. Leak’s first season in Mullen’s offense was an adjustment for both player and play-caller, but he threw just six picks after 12 in 2004 and improved his completion rate from 59.6 to 62.8 percent. He finished the 2005 season with 2,639 yards and 20 touchdowns, along with six rushing scores. Despite sharing snaps with freshman Tim Tebow in 2006, Leak increased his passing yards, passing TDs, completion percentage (career-best .636) and QB rate from 136.5 to 144.9. He finished his senior season with 2,942 passing yards, 23 TDs and 13 interceptions along with three rushing scores. Leak led the Gators to an SEC title and their first national championship in a decade, winning Offensive MVP in the BCS title game and passing Danny Wuerffel as the all-time leading passer in school history with 11,213 yards.

Tebow took over for Leak in 2007 and had one of the most productive seasons by a quarterback in college football history, becoming the first-ever sophomore to win the Heisman Trophy along with numerous other awards. He completed 66.9 percent of his passes for 3,286 yards and 32 touchdowns with six interceptions, while leading UF on the ground (895 yards) and setting an SEC and NCAA single-season record for rushing TDs by a QB (23). How do you top that in your second season as a starter? By winning the SEC and national championship. Though Tebow’s numbers dipped in 2008, he improved Florida’s record from 9-4 to 13-1 and led the Gators on a 10-game winning streak after his Promise Speech. He finished his junior campaign with 2,746 passing yards, 30 touchdowns and just four picks, setting a school record for 230 passing attempts without an interception (third-longest SEC streak). He also rushed for 673 yards and 12 scores, passing Emmitt Smith as the program’s all-time leader in career rushing touchdowns.

In Mullen’s first year at MSU, Relf led the team in passing touchdowns (5) and was the second-leading rusher (500 yards) as he shared playing time with senior QB Tyson Lee. After two straight losses dropped the Bulldogs to 4-7, Relf took over as the starter in the season finale and led them to a 41-27 upset win over No. 25 Ole Miss. He tossed two TDs and rushed for 131 yards and a third score on 15 carries. Relf started all 13 games in 2010 and finished 9-4, including victories over Florida, Georgia, Ole Miss and Michigan in the Gator Bowl. It was the Bulldogs’ first nine-win season in more than a decade (1999). Relf threw for 1,739 yards on the year with 13 touchdowns and six interceptions, while rushing for 713 yards and five scores on a team-leading 194 carries.

After serving as Relf’s backup in 2010, Russell unseated the senior as MSU’s starter in Week 6 of the 2011 season. Mullen’s first quarterback signee rallied the Bulldogs to beat UAB 21-3 and started the following game against South Carolina, splitting time with Relf the rest of the year. Russell took the reins in 2012 and led Mississippi State to an 8-5 record, including a 7-0 start. He posted a career-high 295 passing yards at No. 5 LSU and threw four TDs against Arkansas the next week, tying a school record. Russell finished the season with 2,897 yards and 24 touchdowns, both of which were MSU records until Mullen’s next QB recruit emerged.

Prescott entered 2013 as a backup, but replaced Russell in the season opener after the senior starter suffered a concussion. Prescott started seven games and appeared in 11 as part of a two-quarterback system with Russell, finishing the year with 1,940 passing yards, 829 rushing yards and 23 total touchdowns (10 passing, 13 rushing). Once Russell left, Prescott took the SEC by storm in his first season as a full-time starter. He led the Bulldogs to a 10-2 record in 2014 and their first No. 1 ranking in program history after three straight wins over top-10 teams. Prescott broke 10 school records, including single-season passing yards (3,449), rushing yards by a QB (986), total yards (4,435), passing touchdowns (27) and total touchdowns (41). He earned the first of two First-Team All-SEC selections and was a 2014 finalist for the Maxwell, Davey O’Brien and Johnny Unitas Awards.

Like Tebow, Fitzgerald’s statistics dropped in his second year as a starter, but the team had a much better record. His 2016 campaign was one of the best seasons by a first-year starter in SEC history and broke nine school records, including rushing yards by a QB (1,375). Fitzgerald led the league in total offensive yards (3,798), rushing touchdowns (16) and 100-yard rushing games (8), while throwing for 2,423 yards and 21 scores with 10 picks. However, MSU had a losing record at 6-7. Fitzgerald and the Bulldogs responded in 2017 with the fourth nine-win season under Mullen. He completed 55.6 percent of his passes for 1,782 yards and 15 touchdowns with 11 interceptions, while rushing for 984 yards and 14 scores. Fitzgerald, a finalist for the Johnny Unitas Award, suffered a season-ending ankle injury in the Egg Bowl.