I had the opportunity to speak with former Florida quarterback Kyle Trask ahead of the start of his second season in the NFL. Trask had a prolific career with the Gators, including a 2020 season that featured 4,283 yards and 43 touchdowns through the air. The 2020 Heisman finalist led Florida to more than 500 yards per game, nearly 40 points per contest and the SEC Championship game.
You were back in the Swamp for the Utah game week one. What was that experience like, being back there, that energy, that crowd?
Trask: It was awesome. I mean, you know that energy in that stadium is electric. And that's known across the nation, how cool it is to play in that stadium. I thought it was just awesome to see all the fans come out and come through for such a big game and Napier's first game. I just thought it was a great environment and really helped him get that first big win of the year.
You obviously overlapped with Anthony Richardson in 2020. I was doing some research, and last year you said that you like to call him the Lebron James of football. What makes him so dangerous as a player and from your perspective, where do you think his ceiling is?
Trask: I think his ceiling is as high as he wants it to be. From what I've seen playing with him for that year is he's a very humble, hardworking kid. So, I know he has nothing but great things ahead of him and it's really cool to, not only him, but just to see all the young guys that were freshmen and sophomores, whenever they first came there and I was a senior, to see them all blossom into the players they are now, making plays left and right. It’s just really cool to see.
Looking back over all of the games that you started, specifically in the Swamp, is there one that stands out to you as either your favorite or a favorite moment?
Trask: It would have to be the 2019 Auburn game. It was definitely a very memorable game for me. The first pass of the game went for a touchdown. That was the loudest I heard it at the time. And then, probably the biggest moment for me at that game was when Perine broke off that run and just the roar of that crowd was incredible. There's a lot of memorable moments when I think of that game.
Looking at the 2020 season. Was there a moment either before the season or even during the season when you realized it was going to be special either for you or for the team as a whole?
Trask: Yeah, I mean, I think that 2019 year we were clicking really good, and we had a solid year and won the Orange Bowl and went out on a high note and had a lot of confidence going into next year. We have a ton of seniors returning. So, I think the confidence was always super high in the offseason.
And then when you got the obvious playmakers like we did, and we were just clicking all of camp. We could just tell we had something special. Then to go out and put up points that we did versus Ole Miss, I think it was kind of solidified that we knew we had something special to build off of going into the rest of the year.
What made that offense as strong as it was?
Trask: I think it was just from top down everyone doing a great job. [As far as] The scheme, Mullen always put us in great positions to succeed on offense. And then we of course had the talent to go out there and do it.
And more than that, it was just a really close group of guys. Like I said, a lot of people return from the 2019 year. A lot of us had been there at least for three or four years together. Like I know I had been there when (wide receiver Kadarius) Toney came as a freshman, when (tight end Kyle) Pitts came as a freshman, I had been around (wide receiver Trevon) Grimes for I guess about three years at that point. So we had tons of talent. We had a great chemistry, we'd been together for three or four years. It was just putting everything together, it was almost unstoppable.
Your football career story has been well documented (backup in high school, waiting three years to start at UF, etc.). Something that defines it to me is patience. How did you have that patience? What was that like mentally? And how did those experiences help you prepare for the NFL?
Trask: It's definitely just a mindset. And you know, you got to have a self confidence about yourself that you belong, and that's kind of what I did. I always worked extremely hard and tried to get better every day. And I just knew I belonged, I knew like once I got my shot I was gonna make the most of it.
It's definitely a good trait to take into the NFL because there's extremely talented guys everywhere you go, and the reps are at a minimum compared to college. There's not many to go around, so you really just have to make the most of the reps that you get.
You mentioned how talented everyone is, obviously playing at a school like UF and in the SEC. Did that help with the talent jump, and how was your transition coming into the league? Being surrounded by NFL talent in college and playing against it.
Trask: It definitely doesn't hurt to play around so many NFL guys in college and so many great players we played on defense that are now starting in the NFL. It gives you something similar to look forward to coming into the NFL, what to expect and obviously the NFL is a lot faster and more mental and experienced than college. But I think it did help me in the long run, especially playing in big environments. There's a lot of good traits that I've picked up just playing in all those big time SEC matchup in college.
You mentioned picking up traits in college. You were drafted to a team in Tampa with quarterback talent both on the roster and on staff. How did being around players like Tom Brady, Blaine Gabbert and Ryan Griffin as well as coaches like Bruce Arians and Byron leftwich help with your adjustment to the league?
Trask: Oh yeah, I couldn't be more grateful to be in the quarterback room that I'm in because there's so much experience in there. I think one of the main things I learned and can sometimes get overlooked by a lot of people is just being a pro and showing up to work every day. You can't ever take any plays off, any practices off. Not that that was necessarily a problem for me, but it’s just really cool to be around such an experienced group of guys who have answers for any questions I ask.
How are you feeling entering the season? Obviously, you got a lot of run in the preseason. Do you have any goals or expectations for yourself as we’re a little over 48 hours from you guys starting the season?
Trask: We're feeling really good, really confident. And hopefully we go out there, and if we just do what we need to do, we should be able to get the win. But I'm just really excited to play in the home state and see that environment in primetime football. It's gonna be a lot of fun.
Contact Michael Hull at mhull@alligator.org. Follow him on Twitter at @Michael_Hull33.
Michael Hull is a fourth-year journalism sports & media major and a sports writer at The Alligator. He hosts the weekly sports podcast and has worked on staff for five semesters. In the past, Hull has served as the sports editor, the men's and women's golf beat writer, the volleyball beat writer and the football beat writer.
