How many NFL quarterbacks can say they threw only 17 total high school touchdown passes?
Certainly not many, but that is what Kyle Trask finished with at Manvel High School in Manvel, Texas. Now, the University of Florida product is one of the top quarterbacks in the NFL Draft and will be selected by a team later this month.
Obviously, the majority of players who will be drafted were the best players at their respective high schools and were highly recruited by multiple schools.
Trask’s path certainly is not that.
Having to persevere and stay patient not only got him to where he is now, but will likely serve him well at the next level when he’s competing with the best of the best.
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Manvel High School is one of the hotbeds for football stars in the Houston region. When Trask was a freshman, there were eight quarterbacks, six of which eventually went onto earn scholarships at various levels.
This classified as a good problem for the coaching staff to have.
“It was one of those things where it was great to see how kids could handle competition,” offensive coordinator Larry McRae said. “You could see that early in Kyle that he wasn’t one of those kids who was going to run from competition. He was going to work harder to get even better. You noticed that about him right away.”
After many moved to other districts or transferred to other schools, Trask and D'Eriq King were the only two left. Unfortunately for Trask, who clearly was a gifted passer with a strong arm, King got the starting job as Manvel liked to use the quarterback mostly in the run game and King had a clear edge over him in that regard.
Trask had the opportunity to transfer and play somewhere else, but that wasn’t something he wanted to do.
“He made the comment back in high school, ‘If I run from competition, it is going to set me up in the future to run again,’” McRae recalled. “I thought that was pretty dang mature of a high school kid to say something like that. You knew this kid was different and he was special.”
To that point, Trask could have pouted and checked out. But, instead it made him work even harder.
“That competition between them — I tell people all the time — it was the coolest thing in the world because I got to see those kids compete every day,” McRae said. “You had two special quarterbacks on the same campus going at it every day. They were good friends and talked to each other off the field as well. When they took a snap, they were going at each other to see who could throw that ball best and who could make those throws. It was really cool and impressive to see.”
When colleges came to scout players on the team, Track was often over-looked because they would say, ‘How can we offer a scholarship to a backup quarterback?’
“Why not? Trust your eyes. Trust what you’re seeing,” McRae said the coaches at the school would say.
By the time senior year rolled around, the coaching staff knew they had to find a way to get Trask on the field, so they decided he would play the third series of every game. This ensured he would get meaningful reps when the game was still in the balance instead of mop-up duty late when it would mostly be hand offs.
In 11 games that year, Trask finished with 759 passing yards and 10 touchdowns.
King went onto to play at the University of Houston following receiving numerous offers, while it wasn’t as easy for Trask. He got a few — Houston Baptist, Lamar and McNeese State — but none from major programs. Finally, after the University of Florida visited the school, they were able to get the offensive coordinator at the time, Doug Nussmeier, on the phone.
Nussmeier had a relationship with Kirk Martin, Trask’s head coach, and he was able to convince him to come take a look. Trask made a great first impression, but it was just a practice. Nussmeier needed to see more.
Ultimately, Trask got an invite to Florida's Friday Night Lights camp where he shined against the best of the best. The school had no choice but to offer him a scholarship and he accepted.
But, that didn’t mean it was smooth sailing for Trask.
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Just like at Manvel, Trask wasn’t the starter right away.
The Gators brought in Feleipe Franks in the same class and while the native Texan was a bit of an unknown, that wasn’t the case for Franks. He was named the fifth-best pocket passer in the country and No. 65 overall in the ESPN 300 for the Class of 2016.
“All I know is as a competitor you can never just be complacent and say, ‘Oh, I am just going to sit behind this guy for a year and then go,’” Trask said at his pro day. “If you have that mindset, you’re probably going to be left behind. My mindset is never going to change. It’s always going to be keep the foot on the gas and compete with whoever is in the building.”
Just like in high school, not being the starter didn’t mean he changed his ways.
“I am not afraid to ask questions, even though I wasn’t the starter,” he said. “I was probably asking the most questions in the room even when I wasn’t playing because I am truly trying to prepare like he start and know every little thing, every little detail. I want to know it like the back of my hand, so when I get out there I know what to do.”
In 2019, for the first time in his football career, Trask finally had something go his way.
Franks suffered an ankle injury early in the season and Trask was able to take over as the starting quarterback. In 10 games, he went 9-1, throwing for 2,941 yards to go along with 25 touchdowns and seven interceptions.
Franks transferred to the University of Arkansas after the season making Trask the clear-cut QB1 for his senior season. He certainly made the most of it, throwing for 4,283 yards, 43 touchdowns and eight interceptions in 12 games this past fall.
While he may not be Trevor Lawrence or Zach Wilson, Trask's 68 touchdown passes are the most of any draft-eligible quarterback over the past two seasons.
Clearly, he made the most of his opportunity.
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Trask’s journey is obviously unique to the other quarterbacks in the draft, and it could prove to be a benefit when it comes to NFL teams being interested.
“My resiliency, all the hurdles I had to face all the last couple of years and never getting discouraged and still being able to take advantage of my opportunities when they came,” Trask said when asked what he feels NFL teams like most when speaking to him.
He’s projected by many to be a late Day 2, early Day 3 selection, but Trask doesn’t care when or where he goes. All he wants is a chance to prove himself once again.
“No matter if it’s the best quarterback in the league or the worst, I am still going to come into that building and compete with whoever because that is what I am going to do,” he said.
Dan Mullen, who has coached his fair share of NFL stars, is a huge advocate for Trask when it comes to the next level.
"You're getting a guy that is going to prepare himself to be ready to play and lead your team to victory every single week,” he said after Florida’s pro day. "And that's what a pro is. And that's what he will do."
In fact, Mullen believes as the projected sixth or seventh-best QB in this class, Trask is once again being doubted and not getting a fair chance.
"Ten years from now, I wouldn't be surprised if he is in the group of the top five quarterbacks in this year's draft," he said.
Not many NFL quarterbacks have had to go through everything Trask has over the course of his career, and it’s only made him into the player he is today.
So, while he certainly has been frustrated on numerous occasions, after he gets his name called on draft weekend he probably wouldn't change a thing.