Just a so-so scrimmage for Kyle Trask, but he's clearly improved his game in certain areas

Even though Kyle Trask was just “OK” in Monday night’s scrimmage, Florida coach Dan Mullen said his starting quarterback has clearly made strides in his development since last season.

 “He was OK. I don’t think yesterday was his best day,” Mullen said Tuesday. “But he has improved (his footwork, accuracy and decision making). You’re always going to have little off days here and there. I thought he was a little crisper in scrimmage one. 

 “We gave him a little bit more work yesterday than we did in scrimmage one as we continue to build up and get ready to go. But I have seen him improve — his decision making, his leadership, and we’re putting a lot more on him right now. He has really improved the speed of how he decides things and just, obviously, which is a big one, his knowledge of the game.” 

 Mullen said Trask has almost become like another coach, sitting in on game plan meetings and offering his input about what plays he thinks will and won’t work.

 “He comes and spends extra time in game plan meetings,” Mullen said. “He wants to sit in knowing we’re meeting. He wants to sit around. As a grad student, it helps he has a little more time on his hands. He’s always around the office. He’ll have input just because of his experience and he’s played and he knows he has input on the game plan. 

 “On top of that he has a lot of control at the line of scrimmage. He has a lot of freedom to call his own calls, call plays and check in to plays at the line of scrimmage.” 

 Scrimmage injuries

 Mullen said there were some injuries in the scrimmage, but he did not reveal the players or the possible severity of their injuries.

 “We’ll see, got a couple guys banged up, but we’ll see how that’s going to affect us moving forward here,” he said. “Over the next couple weeks when I get the final reports on some things … it’s a lighter week so I want to see at the end of the week where we’re at, who’s ready to go by the end of the week.” 

 Sleeper awakening

 Naming a sleeper of each recruiting class has become a new tradition for Mullen. This year’s sleeper is defensive back Tre'Vez Johnson, who apparently is already living up to the recognition.

 “I’m really excited (about Johnson),” Mullen said. “He’s playing the star (nickel) for us right now. I’ll tell you what, watching the scrimmage last night, he plays hard. He's still learning what to do, still learning the techniques and the defense as a whole. But he really showed out to me in his effort, strength and physicality, how he tries to get to the ball running to the football, which is what I want to see as a coach.

 “The rest of it we're going to teach and he's going to learn as he continues, but he has great athleticism and gave great effort and I thought played really hard in the scrimmage." 

 Pitts sits it out again

 Mullen held standout tight end Kyle Pitts out for the second straight scrimmage.

 “He’s had a great training camp,” Mullen said. “He hasn’t missed a snap in training camp. He gets a lot of reps and we have a lot of depth at the tight end position. So, I didn’t see a need for him to go play in the scrimmage when I’ve seen what I’ve seen of him and what he’s been able to do so far every day on a consistent basis at practice.” 

 With Pitts sitting out, Kemore Gamble, Keon Zipperer and true freshman Jonathan Odom saw more plays in the scrimmage. All three have had their good moments in camp, Mullen said. 

 “(Zipperer is doing) good. He’s working, learning. Him and Gamble,” Mullen said. “I thought Gamble probably did a really good job for us in the last two scrimmages. Zip’s doing a really good job. Still learning, you know a lot of the intricacies of the route running and all of that stuff. Really physical guy, really athletic. Both guys are getting tons of reps. You want to see them grow and develop and get ready to go play for us and create that depth at that position. 

“Odom actually did pretty well last night, too. Coming off of an injury last year. He’s still trying to get his strength back. You watch and he had a couple of nice catches, he put his face on people blocking. He was not afraid to be physical. He’s just got to get bigger and stronger. He’s got some range catching the ball.” 

Up next

Who: No. 8 Florida vs. Ole Miss

Where: Vaught Hemingway Stadium, Oxford, Miss.

When: Noon, Sept. 26

TV: ESPN

Radio: 103.7-FM, AM-850