By Connor Grott
Florida Gators quarterback and Heisman Trophy finalist Kyle Trask announced Thursday on social media that he will enter the upcoming NFL Draft.
Trask’s decision comes less than 24 hours after the Gators’ 55-20 blowout loss to the Oklahoma Sooners in the Cotton Bowl. In that game, the senior signal-caller tossed three interceptions while playing without his top four pass-catchers.
“I feel that it’s best to chase my dreams of playing in the NFL,” Trask said in a video posted on Twitter. “I’ve had dreams of playing in the NFL ever since I was a kid. Just to have this opportunity to play at the next level, it’s crazy and I’m going to try and go and make the most of it.”
Trask set school records for passing yards (4,283) and passing touchdowns (43) in the 2020 season and guided the Gators to the SEC title game. In the 2019 campaign, he completed 66.9% of his passes for 2,941 yards with 25 touchdowns and seven interceptions.
The 22-year-old Trask is the first Heisman Trophy finalist for Florida since Tim Tebow in 2009. The Heisman winner will be announced Jan. 5 in a virtual ceremony.
“I couldn’t be prouder of him and the season that he had with our team this year. A special, special year for him,” Florida head coach Dan Mullen said after the Gators’ loss to Oklahoma on Wednesday. “I’m really happy for him.
“I mean, you’re talking about a young guy that came in, I think only played a couple plays in his career before he even graduated college. Didn’t play much in high school. And now he’s a Heisman Trophy finalist and he’s going to be an NFL draft pick. So that says a lot about him.”
ESPN currently ranks Trask as the No. 6 quarterback available in the 2021 draft class.
