Florida quarterback Kyle Trask successfully opened his own 2019 Gators football campaign as the starting quarterback, completing 20 of 28 passes for 293 yards in dispatching teetering Tennessee, 34-3, Saturday afternoon in Gainesville.
It was the Gators’ 14th win in their last 15 games against the Volunteers.
The moribund Vols were the perfect opponent for Trask to get his footing in starting his journey through the rest of the season after Feleipe Franks’ season ended in last week’s win at Kentucky due to a dislocated ankle.
Trask started out completing 12 of 14 passes for 206 yards by halftime, eclipsing his career highs in all three categories in the first half.
“I thought he was relaxed,” said Gators coach Dan Mullen, “He hadn’t been in that position before. I always joke with him to make sure you’re having fun while you’re out there. He’s prepared for this. He’s prepared the right way.”
Trask gained that confidence early when he marched Florida 75 yards in five plays on the opening drive as he found tight end Kyle Pitts on a 19-yard touchdown pass to give the Gators a 7-0 lead, just 2:16 into the game.
“I wasn’t really nervous,” Trask said. “Our coaches do a great job of preparing us for these moments. We definitely wanted to start fast, and we completed that goal by scoring on the first drive.”
Trask, who hadn’t started a game since his freshman year in high school, commanded the team even though the Gators’ three turnovers were his own. He lost a fumble on Florida’s second series of the game and then threw a pair of third quarter interceptions to Tennessee’s Theo Jackson and Alontae Taylor.
“He took a shot on two plays, gave receivers a chance, and you have to make good decisions when taking those chances, but I think he managed the game well,” Mullen said. “I thought he was sharp and made good decisions all day long.”
As Tennessee couldn’t convert the three turnovers into points, Trask was able to put his mistakes in perspective and use them in preparation for the upcoming schedule that includes No. 8 Auburn, No. 4 LSU and No. 3 Georgia in upcoming weeks.
“I’m okay with the interceptions,” Mullen analyzed. “Those are very coachable moments. I’m upset about an interception if he throws it and hits a DB in the chest because that’s like, ‘you know he was standing there?’”
Mullen broke down the two interceptions and explained how they happened. He gave credit to Taylor who picked off Trask on the fly pattern to Trevon Grimes and also to Jackson who Mullen said undercut the corner route on the throw to tight end Lucas Krull. Mullen noted that Trask telegraphed that route too much.
“We can fix those,” Mullen noted. “It’s not like he threw it into coverage and blindly.”
Trask drove Florida 61 yards on nine plays late in the first half as Lamical Perine scored from one-yard out on the last play of the first half to give the Gators a 17-0 lead at the break. Then at the outset of the second half, he orchestrated a 75-yard, 6-play assault which ended in a 29-yard strike to Freddie Swain to effectively bury the Vols at 24-3 with 9:11 left in the third quarter.
“He’s a poised quarterback because he sits in the pocket and makes his read,” Grimes said. “That translates to the field on game day.”
