Trimmer Trask has grown his game for the Gators

There’s going to be less of Florida quarterback Kyle Trask this season. And that’s a good thing.

The senior has lost 13 pounds and reshaped his body. And in so doing, he’s improved certain aspects of his game, quarterbacks coach Brian Johnson said after Wednesday’s practice.

“He’s down 10 or 12 pounds. He looks lean,” Johnson said. “The obvious (change) is just his suddenness in the pocket, his escapability, being able to evade rushers and things of that nature.

“I think he feels a lot more comfortable being able to get energy on the ball and feeling strong and lean. When we first got here, he was probably around the weight that he is now, but once he broke the foot he gained 10 or 12 pounds after that

“Now, he's kind of back down to his original weight from that first spring when we were here, and you can really see just the foot quickness and the body quickness improvements."

Trask said he’s actually lost 13 pounds after being listed at 234 pounds last season. He consciously lost the weight to improve his quickness, and he did it through diet and exercise.

“I felt a little heavy towards the end of last year, and we had a lot of time to ourselves, and I just tried to take initiative and tried to improve my health in all aspects of my life,” he said. “I definitely feel a lot more quicker on my feet, and things like that have helped my game.

“I would say just eating the right things, drinking tons of water, and that's about it. A lot of exercise, having that strict diet and trying to improve my overall self, and my health, and my game."

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While Trask was losing weight in the offseason, he apparently was growing as a player and a leader. Johnson has seen the improvement during preseason practice, and in last week’s scrimmage in particular.

“Kyle's done a tremendous job so far just in terms of taking everything to the next level from a leadership standpoint, from a football standpoint, even doing a great job with his body,” Johnson said. “I was really pleased with how he came out of the scrimmage last week. He was kind of firing on all cylinders.

Johnson said Trask, a fifth-year senior, has shown steady growth over the four-plus years he’s been in Gainesville, and now this is his team.

“You come to college to mature and kind of find yourself,” Johnson said. “He’s had a bunch of experiences that have shaped him to this point. He’s in a position now where he feels extremely confident and comfortable with who he is and what he stands for. 

“I’m really, really proud of him to see his continued development. We talk about things other than football in our room. He’s someone that has a really good head on his shoulders. He’s not afraid to speak his mind. He’s inquisitive and asks questions and he’s a thinker. He’s somebody that everybody can look up to and he sets the standard and an extremely high standard for himself through his actions and now through his words. It’s been good to see.”

After what he accomplished on the field last season, and with the progress he’s made working on his overall game in the offseason, Trask’s confidence level appears way up there.

“I definitely feel a lot more confident,” he said. “At the quarterback position, experience is a huge thing. Just to have that, almost that whole season under my belt going into this 2020 season, I feel obviously a lot more confident about this year than I did last year. And that's in all phases of the game."

Up next

Who: No. 8 Florida vs. Ole Miss

When: Noon on Sept. 26

Where: Vaught Hemingway Stadium, Oxford, Miss.

TV: ESPN. Radio: 103.7-FM, AM-850