GAINESVILLE, Fla. – Don't be surprised if there is a movie someday. Maybe one of those "30-for-30" documentaries or a feel-good flick from Disney. That's how inspiring the story of
Kyle Trask is.
Trask made public Thursday afternoon what most had assumed for weeks: he is opting to enter the 2021 NFL Draft and pass up a sixth season of eligibility with the Gators. Trask, one of four Heisman Trophy finalists, has nothing else to prove in college.
He walked off the field following Florida's disappointing 55-20 loss to Oklahoma in the Goodyear Cotton Bowl as the school's single-season record holder for passing yards (4,283) and touchdowns (43). Trask's breakout season in 2020 lifted the Gators into the College Football Playoff hunt until a home loss to LSU in the regular-season finale derailed that bid.
Three consecutive losses to end the season and three interceptions in his final game is not what Trask had in mind a month ago, but that doesn't overshadow the remarkable journey he made at Florida since he arrived five years ago from Manvel, Texas.
"It's kind of a full-circle moment," Trask said of his final game being in his home state. "I left in January of 2016, packed up my little car and my mom packed up her car and we drove 14 hours to Gainesville, and here I am. That's pretty special. Just to look back on all the memories on how I got here, it's really cool when I look back on it."
Trask's journey is as familiar to Gators fans as the team's Orange & Blue. A backup to future Houston and University of Miami quarterback D'Eriq King in high school, Trask stayed put when others would have transferred. He kept working and caught the attention of the Gators, who offered him a scholarship in July 2015 after Trask attended the team's Friday Night Lights camp.
He accepted the offer and when he officially committed and other schools began to show interest, Trask kept his word. Then for three-plus seasons, he served as a backup with the Gators, finally getting an opportunity to start in 2019 after
Feleipe Franks suffered a season-ending ankle injury.
And then Trask spread his wings and took flight. He never stopped believing, even when others wrote him off as an afterthought. That is the part of his story he appreciates most.
"When I think about it, just being counted out so many times," said Trask. "When people doubt me, it's nothing new to me. It doesn't hold me down. I don't dwell on it. I just try to prove me wrong. I think that's ultimately what's gotten me here today."
Trask's mother, Melissa Charba, recalls the genesis of Trask's time with the Gators as if yesterday. That's what moms do. She remembers it raining at Friday Night Lights, reminding her of Trask and his older brother, Hayden, inviting other boys over to play football in the rain on the four acres they used to live on outside Houston. She had a flashback recently when she stopped by the team's hotel in Gainesville and realized it was the same hotel where more than five years ago, she and Kyle arrived at 5 a.m. after their long drive from Manvel. They grabbed a nap and then Trask earned an offer from the Gators later that weekend.
A few months later, Trask was off chasing a dream before his mom barely had time to say goodbye, this time as an early enrollee. Trask's Florida story continued from there, finally culminating with Wednesday night's Cotton Bowl.
"I thought I had him his entire senior year of high school,'' Charba said. "I had never heard of anyone starting college in January and graduating high school early. That was all happening so fast. All of a sudden, he is going to Florida and we're moving him in. It tugs at your heart.
"We filled his car and the rental car as full we could and drove 14 hours. I then turned in the rental car and flew home. It's been five, very full years. Then you look back and wow, that went by really fast."
On a trip to watch the Gators play, Charba recently helped Kyle pack some of his belongings to bring back to Texas. He is ready to start the next chapter as he prepares for April's NFL Draft. Trask remained in Texas after Wednesday night's Cotton Bowl to spend a few days at home. He will return to campus before the Heisman Trophy announcement on Jan. 5 and after that, he will resume his workouts and whatever comes next for the draft.
All the hard work has paid off. It's all Trask knows, a message reinforced by Charba and his father, Michael Trask. Trask's parents met as students at Texas A&M, got married, had two sons and divorced when the boys were young.
Through it all, their boys got the support they needed and both have flourished.
Charba has worked in human resources for the MD Anderson Cancer Center in Houston for 22 years. She tried to put in perspective where Kyle's drive to prove others wrong comes from.
"It's basically an upbringing. You work hard, you persevere,'' she said. "In college, I had to work hard for my grades and everything. In everything I do, I'm always pushing myself to know that I did my best. It's like this instinct or internal drive. You want to be the best at what you do. Even when Kyle was starting football as a freshman in high school, he always wanted to have a strong backup because that pushed him. That's what you do. You don't cut corners. You've got to put in the work."
From the time Trask joined the Manvel varsity team as a sophomore until Franks went down with an injury last season at Kentucky, he worked in the shadows. The dream of playing at a big-time college and the NFL never died.
He just did what he's always done. Show up. Put in the work. Pay attention to details. Be a good teammate.
"I always played quarterback growing up and I guess when I got to high school and started sitting on the bench, it's kind of like when [being an underdog] truly hit more the first time,'' Trask said. "It gave me fuel to push harder and I probably wouldn't be standing where I'm at today if it wasn't for those moments along my journey to give me that work ethic and determination.
"Ideally, you would rather have things going smoothly, but that's life. It's not always going to be perfect. And at the end of the day, when things are not going your way or people are doubting you and your abilities, you just have to use that as fuel and prove them wrong in the end."
Point, Trask.
What a journey it's been. For him. For his family. And for us, those who got to watch him grow and become a part of the program's lore.
Kyle Trasks don't come along very often, and when they do, you better appreciate them because they'll be gone before you know it.
Trask held up his end and more.
"I'm grateful for everything and all the memories I've had here,'' he said. "I'm just happy to have the opportunity to play at the next level. Luckily, the past couple of years I've gotten to play a lot more than I have in the previous seven, and it's given me this opportunity.
"I'm extremely excited. It's bittersweet leaving a place like this, but at the end of the day, I'm just really excited for this opportunity to fulfill this childhood dream of mine to play at the level."
