Florida football: Kyle Trask is marvelous, but Gators are much more than their Heisman candidate QB
The last time Florida played Kentucky, Kyle Trask was a backup quarterback playing behind Feleipe Franks, who many Gators fans felt might also be behind highly-touted redshirt freshman Emory Jones on the Florida depth chart.
Fourteen months later, Trask is not just Florida’s starting quarterback, he’s a likely Heisman Trophy finalist when the award is given in January. Trask might even be the best football player in the SEC, and the fact that he’s in the conversation is why Florida debuted at No. 6 in the College Football Playoff rankings and control their own destiny for a spot in the Playoff.
Trask’s story is remarkable. But like Joe Burrow’s amazing story at LSU a year ago, the constant retelling of Trask’s rise from obscurity to stardom risks overshadowing the fact that the team Dan Mullen has built around the senior quarterback is pretty darned good, too.
Yes, the Gators offense ranks 5th nationally in S&P+ offensive efficiency (efficiency adjusted to account for tempo and opponent), 3rd in success rate and 8th in yards per play and scoring offense. Yes, Trask is the sun around which the Florida offense orbits.
Yet there are a host of things Florida also does exceptionally well on offense that might be getting overlooked while people fawn over Trask’s remarkable numbers. Here are 2 things that make the Florida offense go:
The Gators limit sacks and quarterback pressures
Florida’s offensive line was much-maligned a season ago, unable to get much leverage in the run game and subject to breakdowns against elite defenses in the passing game. Florida returned a combined 89 O-line starts this season, though, and the talent has gone from 5 blue chips when Mullen arrived to 11 this season, a testament to how well Florida has replenished an empty cupboard at the position. Still, whether the line would improve was a big question mark entering the 2020 season.
The Gators have answered the bell. Stone Forsythe grades out as one of the nation’s best offensive tackles in passing situations, per Stats Solutions. The Gators as a whole rank an impressive 10th nationally in sack percentage allowed, surrendering a sack on only 2.63 percent of passing downs. Florida ranks 9th in fewest pressures allowed as well, which means that for the most part, defenses aren’t hitting Trask. The result is a quarterback in the Heisman conversation and an offensive line that slots in just behind Texas A&M’s as the SEC’s best in pass protection.
Florida has a stable of receivers and tight ends that stress secondaries
Among the SEC’s ranked teams, only Florida and Alabama feature 6 pass catchers with 10 receptions or more. Florida features 9 players with 8 receptions or more, 3 more than any other SEC program.
Why does this matter? It means defenses can’t necessarily key on Florida’s All-America tight end, Kyle Pitts. If defenses elect to take Pitts away, they are still going to find it difficult to contain prototypical NFL wideout Trevon Grimes or the shifty playmaker, Kadarius Toney. Even behind Pitts, who has missed 2 1/2 games after suffering a concussion on an illegal hit from Lewis Cine in the Georgia game, the Gators have found production from backup tight ends Keon Zipperer and Kemore Gamble (14 receptions, 242 yards, 5 touchdowns between them).
Florida’s absurd depth at the receiver and tight end positions, coupled with Mullen’s ability to scheme and put players in positions to be successful, puts extreme stress on opposing defenses. It’s a big reason the Gators execute at such a successful rate.
• • •
It isn’t just offense that makes this Gators team, either.
But as difficult as Florida has had it on the back end, they are coming together up front.
Florida’s pass rush is improving and dangerous
Florida struggled to set the edge early in the season and get any leverage inside. That’s a bad combination.
The situation has improved dramatically since the return of senior defensive tackle Kyree Campbell from an injury. Florida now ranks 20th nationally in team sacks, 17th in quarterback pressures and 37th in sack percentage. A season ago, the Gators were top 10 across the board in those categories, but the dropoff now, especially with Campbell back in the fold, doesn’t appear as steep.
https://twitter.com/1CoachCoop/status/1331078095521067008?s=20
In fact, Florida has produced back-to-back SEC Defensive Linemen of the Week performances in wins over Arkansas and Vanderbilt, a sign the Gators are continuing to get better up front.
• • •
The Gators also do a few other things extremely well to help offset some of their defensive issues. Here are 2 of the biggest:
Florida doesn’t beat itself with penalties or turnovers
The Gators are the SEC’s least-penalized team, averaging just more than 4 penalties a game, good for 14th best nationally. That’s a stark contrast from the McElwain and Muschamp eras, when Florida finished in the top half of the SEC in “fewest penalties” only twice (2011, 2012).
Florida also doesn’t turn the ball over much. The Gators have thrown 5 interceptions, but 2 came in “garbage time.” Florida has also lost 3 fumbles, most notably the Malik Davis fumble that halted what was likely a game-winning drive and handed the ball to Texas A&M, who put together a game-winning drive of their own in response. That turnover was costly, of course. But on the year, turning the ball over less than once a game, coupled with Florida’s ability to limit penalties, has made the Gators the type of team that simply won’t beat themselves.
Florida’s special teams are the best in the country
Analytics more or less bear this claim out: Florida is tied with Texas State and LSU for 1st in the country in S&P+ special teams ranking, which evaluates the effectiveness of coverage units as well as punting and kicking teams. Florida has limited punt return yardage better than anyone in the SEC, and Gators punter Jacob Finn, while ranking only 48th nationally in yards per punt, ranks in the top 25 in net as a result.
Placekicker Evan McPherson has been the most accurate kicker in the SEC since he arrived on campus 3 seasons ago, and it has been the same story this season, only with more range.
Evan McPherson For Groza.#Gators by 20 in Duval. pic.twitter.com/iz9zwO0Kfz
— InAllKindsOfWeather.com (@AllKindsWeather) November 7, 2020
McPherson has missed only 5 field-goal attempts in his entire career and 1 this season. He’s a legitimate weapon, and one who might matter when/if the Gators play for a championship next month.
There’s no debate Trask is the heartbeat of this Florida offense and one of the leaders of the team. But as the above statistical profiles demonstrate, Florida is a deep, dangerous, complete team, one that is more than a star quarterback on a hot streak.
I still think UF is a couple years away from having a national championship team, but it sure is fun to see a well coached team playing again.
I totally disagree. This was the year. It was evident after last season, and Mullen should have fired Grantham. Next season without Trask and Pitts, Emory Jones ain’t gonna be it. Players like Trask and Pitts show up once every 10 years. Mullen blew it.
LONG MESSAGE FOR SPARKY AND GATOR NATION….
Sparky I suggest you have all the FUN you intend on having NOW, right now!!!! I don’t know how far the gators are or aren’t from a national championship. But I do know that Kyle Trask is GONE THIS YEAR! Along with pretty much all your wide receivers and Kyle Pitts!!!!
Y’all were LUCKY to catch UGA PLAYING STETSON BENNETT and having most of our starters on defense out along with George Pickens and a running back on offense!!! UGA ain’t losing too much this season. Nope, not after the way things went down. Not happening!!!! We have a few ALL AMERICAN FRESHMAN OUT WITH INJURIES. This might be sad for gators fans to hear but oh well. UGA DEFENSE MIGHT BE AS GOOD OR BETTER THAN WE WERE BEFORE ALL THE INJURIES HIT. Y’ALL DIDN’T PLAY THE REAL GEORGIA! Anyway the defense will be dominating again next season.
Our entire starting WR group could be back next year. Depending upon what happens with Demetrius Robertson! But the main core group of stars are all coming back. That being Georgia Pickens and the youngster who made all those big plays against Mississippi state last week. His name escapes me but he is A STAR!!!!! And then 5 STAR Blaylock that has been making big play after big play when he stays healthy. He will be back. And law of averages says HEALTHY!!!! THAT IS 3 ALL SEC ALL AMERICAN WRS IN THE STARTING LINEUP NEXT YEAR! AND I’M TALKING FIRST TEAM ALL SEC FOR ALL OF THEM!
Our WR group will look like Alabama last season! And we will have JT DANIELS tossing it to them!!!! And if we need a backup. We will have 5 star Brock Vandagriff who is deadly with his arm or feet!!!! The dude threw for 7 TDS recently before leaving the game early to give their backup a chance. And regarding his running. Well I believe he ran for OVER 1000 YARDS LAST YEAR. I don’t know his numbers this year. But I do know 1000 yards is good even for a running back!!!!
But JT Daniels in his first start for UGA. Threw for 401 yards and 4 TD PASSES!!! He actually threw 6 TD PASSES. Because he hit the WR dead in the hands twice in the end zone and they dropped it. Needless to say. I believe he has regained the form that he had. When he was BETTER THAT TREVOR LAWRENCE OR JUSTIN FIELDS!!!! Because had he stayed his senior season. He would have beaten Trevor Lawrence out by 50 or 60 TD passes easily!!! He already beat Justin Fields!!!! He officially is behind only Trevor Lawrence by around 10 td passes. But Trevor Lawrence played 4 full seasons. JT Daniels only played 3 seasons!!! Then he RECLASSIFIED and started at USC when he should have been a senior in high school.
ANYWAY GET ALL YOUR FUN OVER WITH!!!
Because Kirby still owns Mullen in recruiting even in a bad year! And UGA will still own Florida. You didn’t overtake UGA! What happened could happen to any team. Did auburn overtake Alabama by beating them last year with all the injuries? I think you’ll get your answer in the iron bowl. And personally, I don’t think it’s going to be pretty at all!!!!
Honestly though I don’t think auburn fans want to win this one! Not everyone anyway! BECAUSE WINNING THE IRON BOWL WOULD MEAN MORE OF THE GUS BUS!!!! And Gus has proven. About the only good team he can beat is Alabama. And usually only because it’s played in AUBURN!!! That is one stadium where even Nick Saban can’t get a break!!! I don’t think they like him. LOL
Anyway UGA still owns a huge advantage in talent. And they won’t be hurt forever! We have a TE we call the big 0!!! He is already bigger than Kyle Pitts and fast. He was a 5 star recruit. And next year he will be a red zone nightmare for anyone!!! In case you missed JT Daniels highlights against Mississippi state. Go check them out. And you’ll see. Next season already belongs to the dawgs!!!!! Carson Beck will be a year older, JT Daniels will be a year older and healthier hopefully. So our TOP 3 QBS will be JT Daniels with Carson Beck battling Brock Vandagriff for the #2 spot. Either way we will have 3 5 stars!!! Assuming D’wan Mathis stays he could still make noise. He is talented. But I still expect him to be at #4!!! That leaves the mailman in his proper place at #5!!!! But I assume he probably transfers out. POSSIBLY TO FLORIDA? MULLEN’s NEW MAILMAN MIGHT BE A DAWG NOW AND A GATOR TOMORROW???? He has MOST of what Mullen lives for. That being fast feet and AN ACCURATE ARM IF HE IS ABLE TO GET IT PAST THE LINE!!! But honestly I doubt he would go to Florida. He loves UGA. But I HONESTLY BELIEVE that this season. He could beat out Emory Jones!!! Next season we would have to see!!!
I JUST FIND IT FUNNY THE WAY YOU SAID. FLORIDA MIGHT BE A FEW YEARS AWAY. AS IF YOU PLAN ON BEATING A HEALTHY UGA. THAT IS ALREADY MILES OUT IN FRONT. AND STILL WINNING THE RECRUITING BATTLE!!! I GOT NEWS FOR ALL GATOR FANS. YOU BEST HAVE FUN NOW. BECAUSE NEXT SEASON. ITS CRYING TIME AGAIN!!! FOR YEARS TO COME!!!!!
Drop the ball now and y’all missed your chance!!!! THAT WINDOW WILL SHUT AND SHUT HARD!!!!!! And you might as well have fun now. Because Alabama is going to END YOU in the SEC CHAMPIONSHIP GAME. And if it’s close you’ll still have 2 losses. And Saban will say. I sure as hell don’t want to play them again. AND THE COMMITTEE WILL SAY. YEP, THAT WAS A SEMIFINAL GAME. BUT IF THEY STILL WANT A SECOND NO SEC TEAM. UGA WITH THE NEW QB WILL BE THEIR CHOICE!!!! Either way. I predict that UGA probably ends the season on a better note than Florida. With either the SAME or a BETTER RECORD!!!!
Won’t that sting? Knowing it’s business as usual next year? Don’t tell me you honestly believe that Emory Jones and a bunch of young WRs, will overtake what UGA is bringing back and bringing in!!! NO WAY!!!!!!!! Plus if Mullen benches Emory Jones even once next year. HE WILL TRANSFER!!!!!! Probably to Ohio State.
PS. In fact after Justin Fields gets paid at seasons end. EMORY JONES MIGHT WISE UP AND SAY. WHY DON’T I GO PLAY AT OHIO STATE AND MISS GETTING BEAT BY UGA IN REGULAR SEASON? ILL LOOK GOOD IN THAT EASY LEAGUE WITH ALL THOSE 5 STARS!!! REMEMBER WHERE HE WAS HEADED BEFORE MULLEN GRABBED HIM???? WHO CAN TELL ME??????? It could have been Emory Jones getting paid this season if Mullen didn’t grab him AND BENCH HIM!!!!!!
King Negan
Good god. Did anyone really read this? Just curious
By the way, you bark too much, I didn’t even read the garbage you wrote..your name was enough to know that it is not worth reading…loser dog boy!
This guy is a british dog..not worth reading my friend. Not smart as a dog though…fascinating…Go Gators!
Nope. And after about 4 sentences I looked back to see who wrote it. Gotta feel for the fella. Bless his soul! Hey, King, bottom line, Mullen can ‘coach ‘em up, INCLUDING QB’s. That’s something Kirby can’t do.
It’s really Kirby Smart
Couldn’t get past the 3rd paragraph and that was more than enough to confirm this guy is a delusional idiot
I read a line or two and then gave up – AS USUAL! I know people like Nagin – they just LOVE to talk to themselves if no one else is listening!
Keep on sniffing like a good dog, feel free to lick rear ends too like a british ugly dog, like kirby dumb dog the 2 star coach of georgia college of underachiever 5 stars…LOL
Did he say anything worth reading?
Rent free.
It does my heart well to see a UGA fan sooooo upset that he/she writes a novel to “tell off” the other team. Sleep tight sweet angel, you will have a chance to beat your big brothers again next year.
Court Jester Negan, at it again with the irrelevant ranting and broken caps lock key.
King, pitiful that Gatornation rules your mind even on the holidays. Just pathetic.
But sine hate is your thing have a Gator thanksgiving.
Who will actually read your food for thought? I certainly will not. Anything after the word Negan is straight bubu. Nice legacy dog. Your posts are like the annoying ads which most people have become accustomed to ignore. Although I do have the urge for some Texas Pete sauce right now. Hopefully, in all seriousness that crap attitude and wrong outlook of yours doesn’t equate to your personal life. Keep up your literary exercise in free writing whatever comes to mind. If it makes you happy roll with it. Go-Gators!
Being a year or 2 away with a coach like Mullen is nothing but positive. I’m a Bama fan first. Then other SEC teams, including the Gators since my brother-in-law graduated from there. Keep Mullen happy and you’ll be celebrating in Jacksonville regularly. Atlanta and the CFP will come in time. When Saban steps down! LoL
I am only surprised by the special teams ranking– pleasantly surprised. I knew our field kicker was great, but haven’t been feeling the teams over all were very special. The difference in the D line was clear in the UGA game. Last year we got no pressure at all, and this year was much better. The run blocking is better than last year, but that’s not saying much. I wonder why these guys don’t seem to have the will to run block, but at least they are awesome in pass blocking.
We’re better overall on offense. If we can get the safeties to start playing we’ll be fine.
Mr. Blackmon, you are quickly becoming my favorite Gators writer.
I wonder with Dooley & Andreu both retiring next week from the Gainesville Sun, who they will get to cover the Gators locally. Maybe Neil will be the new gatorsports guy
Neil is a practicing attorney.
The Gators are the SEC’s least-penalized team, averaging just more than 4 penalties a game.
I didn’t think I would ever read this. The Gators have collected penalties like Mardi Gras beads for as long as I remember.
Amen to that. Even in the Urban era we’ve always been at the bottom of the league.
I would love to see UF win the SEC. However, if they do and Alabama’s only loss is to the SEC champion unfortunately for every non-Alabama CFB fan we likely see a non conference champion Alabama in the CFP/NC once again. UF cant and wont beat Alabama though, so the CFP may be safe until this happens again, like I said before, we need and 8 team playoff.
Can’t
Right
So might as well not even play the game
Thanks Diesel. I’m not delusional, so I’m very much aware that Bama is at a higher level than all other teams. However, it is a blessing just to be able to line up vs them. Hoping for weird things to happen.
I was hoping we’d get 8 teams in the playoffs – but just as easy as it is to ask “why not?” this crazy season, we know that Covid has made playing just a regular season very difficult. I do expect we will get to an 8 team playoff soon.
you might or might not be right. Nothing is 100% in life except the FACT that the ugly british georgia college dogs will never ever win another national championship…LOL. Tennessee will win one before them! Go Gators!!
Diesel, Alabama certainly has the deeper roster and the best running back in the conference, but every time Alabama scores, we get to have the ball back and our offense is very good.
Anything can happen in the SECCG.
Depth at QB, OL, TE and WR? Without accumulating a legion of 5 star talent? How can a clown like Mullen do this in 3 short years when a Master like Kirby is being trying for 5 years and has a midget, a deer in the headlights, and a true frosh who is forgotten at QB, a bunch of WRs who can’t get it together, but hey they have tons of potential. At least he has one of the best O lines in the world or so I’m told, or was it he best defense in the universe? Hard to keep track of all the Georgia hype. But the latest is that JT Daniels is ready for the NFL first round after that excellent outing against half of the MSU defense. And here I thought the Jamie Newman preseason hype was over the top
Good to see the O-Line get some love. They have been so good this year compared to last. Great protection and even getting off the ball and getting a push this year in the rushing game. Love it.
This year is a case study in how important experience is on the offensive line.
I didnt read the article… just came here to point out uga and florida would NEVER make it to a SEC championship game if they played in the west. Serious question, why is the west always better than the east? Is it because the high school football is better out here? Something in the water perhaps? Heck, even in a down year the west is gonna send 2 teams to the college football playoffs!
Anyways, you girls can continue the squabbling over who the best program in the lEast is… its cute and entertaining. That is all. Tootles.
Well, from the 1990s-2008, the east was almost always better than the west. It’s cyclical, Gator coaching in the early 2010s played a role in the east slumping recently.
Serious question: how old are you? Do you remember when UT fans wanted to change the SECCG to the 2 best teams so that they could get a chance to play in it? Seriously, the SEC east dominated in the first 10-15 years after divisions were formed. Take out Saban and his incredible run, and then we will probably have a better chance of parity
Is this when Yale was winning nattys? Lmfao please change the SECCG to the two best teams! Better yet lets donaway with divisions and play a round robin every year… I sure would like to see my tigers play real powers like vandy, kentucky, south carolina, and tennessee every year! What a luxury that must be!
True that we’ve had other contributions, but I wouldn’t undersell what Trask has done either. You take him out, and put in Jones or Franks or any number of QBs and I don’t think this team is a threat for the NC. We’re in this position because of Trask.