Debating Florida Gators QB Kyle Trask's Case for the Heisman Trophy
Throughout the unprecedented year of college football that has brought nothing but the unexpected in a pandemic-riddled season, a number of players have left their mark unlike ever before on the college football world.
While the regular season has come to a close—and many teams will be appearing in their final, postseason contests of 2020 in the coming weeks—the status of individual immortality remains in the balance for a select few.
That immortality? Being named winner of the 86th Heisman Trophy in college football history.
On the heels of leading one of the most prolific offenses in school history, Gators quarterback Kyle Trask looks to be vying to bring the University of Florida it’s fourth all-time winner and first since Tim Tebow in 2007.
Having a multitude of possible candidates for the award floating around as the 2020 season approaches its pinnacle—including Alabama’s dynamic trio of Devonta Smith, Mac Jones, and Najee Harris, as well as Clemson’s Trevor Lawrence—Trask’s road to hoisting the trophy, proved to be difficult throughout the final stretch of the season in the eyes of voters.
With the official announcement of candidates set to come during the 2020 Heisman Trophy Finalists Reveal Show on ESPN at 7:30 PM on Thursday, the likelihood that Trask gets his virtual seat to the ceremony is a near guarantee.
However, does Trask’s decorated resumé represent an individual deserving of the Heisman Trophy?
The Argument For Trask
Not allowing a well-documented past as a career backup stop him from catapulting his name into the talks of elite players in college football, Florida Gators signal-caller Kyle Trask embodies the characteristics of a deserving Heisman Trophy Winner.
By definition, “winners epitomize great ability combined with diligence, perseverance, and hard work,” all of which Trask has exemplified throughout the year.
Stepping into his first season as a full-time starter in a system that had been completely altered to match his pocket passer skillset, the value of Trask in the offense was larger than given credit for.
Playing in just 11 games to this point due to the shortened season at the hands of COVID-19, Trask managed to account for 4,125 yards on 69.7% passing, 43 touchdowns, and just five interceptions. Statistically leading the country in passing yards, passing touchdowns, total touchdowns, and passing yards per game, Trask’s efficiency resembles that of the award's most recent winner.
Averaging 375 yards and 3.9 touchdowns per contest, Trask’s stat-line is already stunning. However, if Trask were to have played a fifteen game season, he would be on pace to nearly match LSU quarterback and 2019 Heisman winner Joe Burrow’s statistics from last season—who went for 5,671 yards, 60 touchdowns, and just six interceptions—as Trask is on pace to account for 5,625 yards, 58 touchdowns, and seven interceptions over the same span of games.
With Burrow putting together what many believe to be the greatest showing of any player in college football history last season, the similarities within the top-tier production and meteoric rise to stardom speak volumes to the campaign of Trask.
As the first quarterback in Florida history to throw for 4,000 yards in a single season, surpassing Heisman winner Danny Wuerffel’s school record for touchdown passes in a season and setting a new record for touchdowns thrown against Southeastern Conference opponents in a season, Trask etched his name into school, conference, and national record books with his performance all year long.
In three contests against teams that ended the season ranked in the Top 25, Trask averaged 398 yards on 68.7% completion and four total touchdowns per game. Throwing just one interception during that span—a pick-six against Georgia—Trask elevated his game and the Florida offense in the biggest moments throughout the season.
Given his consistencies passing the football, resiliency to find a way to fight back against the likes of Georgia and Alabama after falling down big, and overall production throughout the season as a while, history indicates that Trask would be the clear cut winner of the award due to his individual excellence at the quarterback position.
The Argument Against Trask
Being less fruitful than the argument for Trask winning the Heisman, the argument against Trask hinges upon the lack of a clear-cut Heisman moment to define his season and the overall team success (or lack thereof).
Despite Trask’s brilliance throughout the season that has carried him to the position he is in now, there is still a vital piece of his resumé missing for the Gators head honcho.
For previous winners, on top of their spectacular efforts throughout the season, an awe-inspiring play or drive has solidified their standing as college football’s best of the best.
From Burrows elusive scramble in the SEC Championship Game against Georgia to find Justin Jefferson for a pickup of 70-yards, to Lamar Jackson’s incredible 47-yard touchdown run against Florida State in 2016, to Kyler Murray’s game-sealing touchdown pass to Grant Calcaterra to seal the deal in the Big 12 championship game, the big plays to be remembered make up a large reason for their victory.
When digging to look for Trask’s shining moment, the Georgia game as a whole reign as the lone wolf at the top of the list. But, without a clear cut top play, voters may be deterred from casting their ballots for Trask.
Or, that decision could be made due to the lack of team success for UF.
After Florida was upset by LSU to close out the regular season before coming up short against Alabama in the SEC Championship Game, the Gators went from a team playing for their life as a possible College Football Playoff contenders to a three-loss squad in the final stretch of the year.
While the Heisman is meant to be an individual award that recognizes the best player from college football throughout the longevity of the season, the success of one's team plays a major role in the decision process of the voters in most cases.
There are outliers—Jackson and Tebow being the most recent examples—that hurdled those obstacles to hoist the trophy. Still, they’ve done so with showings that are head and shoulders above the rest of the competition in their respective seasons.
Being a difficult task to overcome, the Gators' defensive struggles and ineffective run game that played a significant role in their losses could have cost Trask a Heisman trophy when it’s all said and done.
Final Thoughts
In the end, I believe this race for individual glory should come down to two men - Trask and Smith - and it's one that could really go either way.
As of right now, Smith is widely regarded as the man sitting atop the list of candidates. As a result, the future first-round draft pick has an opportunity to break the stronghold quarterbacks, and running backs, have had on the award as of late and be the first wideout to accomplish the feat since Michigan’s Desmond Howard won in 1991.
Accounting for 98 receptions, 1,511 yards, and 17 touchdowns throughout the season—leading the nation in receptions and receiving yards by a large margin—Smith has showcased Heisman-worthy talent all season long, and he’s done so on the best team in college football.
Smith brings multiple Heisman moments to the table with a punt return touchdown to break a 3-3 tie late in the first half against Arkansas to jumpstart a 52-3 victory over the Razorbacks and a one-handed snag in the back of the end zone versus LSU with under a minute left in the second quarter to put the nail in their coffin before the halftime break.
With the overwhelming statistics and Heisman moments to back it up, Smith is, in my opinion, the only other option to take home the trophy outside of Trask.
However, I believe Trask deserves his name to be synonymous with the words Heisman trophy winner.
His resounding statistics throughout the season, value to the Florida offense's success, and the position he plays makes what he has done the most impressive of any player throughout the 2020 season.
Consistency and high expectations shouldn’t be a knock on the year that Trask has had. In his first year as a full-time starter, Trask proved to be amongst the elite in college football history, and he should be awarded for his performances accordingly.
The Heisman Trophy will be awarded, virtually, on Jan. 5, 2021.
