Kyle Trask is Proving Why Poise Matters at Quarterback

His accuracy has been impressive and has kept Florida's offense flowing, but Kyle Trask's poise is what keeps Florida going.

Chuck Cook-USA TODAY Sports

The storylines surrounding Kyle Trask have been plentiful. 

To recap, the Manvel, Texas native never started a varsity football game for Manvel High School. Then, the Texan flew under the radar during the recruiting process before picking up an offer from Jim McElwain's Gators after participating in a camp held in Gainesville. McElwain was fond of his size -- and considering Trask stretches 6'4" and is 240 pounds, that's no surprise. But more so, Trask's precision turned heads. 

Despite his size and accuracy, Trask rarely stepped foot on the field for the Gators. Overshadowed by Austin Appleby, and then Feleipe Franks, Trask continued to prepare for his opportunity. Spending countless hours in the film room -- despite knowing his chances to use what he learned in the film room in a game were slim, he never stopped preparing. 

On September 14, 2019, all his preparation paid off. 

After Florida's starter Feleipe Franks exited the Kentucky game with a dislocated ankle, it became Kyle Trask's opportunity to silence those who had doubted him for so long. His first order of business would be to construct an 11 point comeback over the Wildcats.

Mission accomplished. 

Three weeks later, and Trask's window for opportunity would be wide open. In a home contest against the then top-10 Auburn tigers, Trask had the opportunity to show his worth in front of 91,000 fans as well as the national spotlight. 

For many, the stage would be too big. The pressure would be too much. But for Trask, it was just right. 

His 19-for-31 performance for 234 yards and two touchdowns lifted the Gators to a 24-13 victory over the Auburn Tigers. A performance so impressive, and arguably unpredicted, it nearly overshadowed the fact that Trask coughed up the football three times as he subdued to pocket pressure. 

Instead of getting frustrated or Coach Mullen becoming timid with the play calling, Trask continues to roll with the punches and help the Gators pick up their biggest win in years. 

Last Saturday in Baton Rouge, the test was going to be much different. The crowd was going to be bigger. The lights were going to be brighter. The stage was going to be massive. And the pressure would have the weight of a thousand bricks. 

Death Valley is a scary place for quarterbacks. But again, it was the perfect storm for Kyle Trask. 

In a 23-for-39 performance from the redshirt junior came a shot-for-shot battle in the bayou. Throughout the game, Trask led the Gators on four long, tedious and patience-testing drives. The four drives in question combined for 301 yards on 44 plays. For most offenses, such effort would likely be exhausting. 

For Trask? A confidence builder. 

"Those long drives really just add a lot of confidence," Trask said on Monday. "You know, just driving down the field like that in a hostile environment like that -- it just gives us -- it just shows that we can drive the ball on anybody." 

That mentality is part of what makes Kyle Trask special. Despite sitting behind D'Eriq King at Manvel High School and Feleipe Franks for much of his time at the University of Florida, his confidence in himself never dimmed or faded. 

At first glance, Trask stays to himself. He's calm, cool and collected. However, this isn't always the case. 

Gators' wide receiver Josh Hammond came to UF on the same class cycle as Trask and has seen how the Texan's personality has evolved. Hammond said since day one, Trask was a calm guy. However, there are aspects that flip a switch in Kyle. 

"He definitely gets fired up for live situations, it can be at practice, in scrimmage or it can be game day, he gets fired up for those things," Hammond said. 

The first time Hammond saw the passionate side of Trask, he was surprised - but now, it's expected. 

"Probably the first time he did that it did surprise me just because I did not expect it to come out of him. You know it’s football, guys get excited for football, so like when it happened, it was like oh it’s Kyle, but like after that I expected it out of him. He brings that switch when it’s time to go." 

So far, this year, Trask has flipped the switch at all the right moments. He's urgent when he needs to be urgent and calm when he needs to be calm. 

Trask has put this on display and much, much more since taking the starting position for the Gators. 

Trask's first road start in Death Valley was no different. 

"Welcome to Death Valley -- Where opponents' dreams come to die," Ed Orgeron said ahead Saturday's game in an interview with ESPN's Tom Rinaldi. 

While the Gators' didn't come away with a win, dreams are far from dead. As for Kyle Trask, his dreams are just now starting to come true.