In a matter of weeks, Florida quarterback Kyle Trask will hear his name called in the NFL Draft and begin his professional career. Legendary quarterback Peyton Manning is already rooting for Trask to break one of his records.
Trask joined ESPN college football analyst Kirk Herbstreit for an episode of ‘QB21,’ and Manning surprised the Gators quarterback with an appearance. The two-time Super Bowl winner and 2021 Pro Football Hall of Fame inductee explained to Trask that he’s already shown the perseverance necessary to handle the hardships that the NFL will throw at him.
“No doubt about it. It’s a real credit to you, Kyle,” Manning said. “I can tell you that’s going to help you in this transition and anything that comes your way in pro football. There’s going to be adversity. I just think you can always fall back on prior circumstances and say, ‘Hey, it didn’t look great when I was in high school, but I kept working, I persevered, and went on to have a great career at Florida.’ It won’t always be easy in the NFL. You certainly know that.”
Manning explained that he had a pretty rough introduction to the NFL himself. The former Colts and Broncos signal caller still holds the rookie record for interceptions in a season. Manning invited Trask — or any of his fellow rookie quarterbacks — to take over the top spot in that category.
“Kirk has heard me talk about this before,” Manning said. “My rookie year in the NFL, I played four years in the SEC and thought I was fully prepared. Threw 28 interceptions my rookie year. That’s still an NFL rookie record. If you want to break that, Kyle, that’s fine with me. I’d like to get that one off my resume. If you, Trevor, or any of these other rookies want to break that record, go for it.”
For much of this NFL offseason, Trask has been absent on first-round mock drafts. However, there is a growing belief that the Florida quarterback will work his way in the opening round of the 2021 NFL Draft. Peter King of NBC Sports has heard rumblings about just that.
“I think I’m starting to think Kyle Trask, the Florida quarterback, has a good chance to be the sixth first-round quarterback. Starting to think,” King wrote in his Monday column.
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Trask had a career year with the Gators in 2020, finishing 301 of 437 passing (68.9% completion percentage) for 4,238 yards, 43 touchdowns and eight interceptions.
