Florida football: The 2 Kyles is the hottest show in the SEC

Kyle Trask and Kyle Pitts both started off hot for Florida.

After a few consecutive years of watching rival Georgia lay waste to the rest of the SEC East, uncertainty at quarterback in Athens has allowed Dan Mullen and Florida to shoot near th top of the division and engender some thoughts that this could be the year the Gators finally slip into the College Football Playoff.

As is to be expected with a Mullen-coached team, the two star players that will drive the Florida bus this season are on the offensive side of the ball, as quarterback Kyle Trask and tight end Kyle Pitts proved how lethal a combination they can be when they eviscerated Ole Miss in their first game of the season. Trask threw an insane six touchdown passes, and Pitts was on the receiving end of four of them.

https://twitter.com/SECNetwork/status/1309956964403810304

Kyle Trask might end up in the Heisman race if he sustains this production

After backing up D’Eriq King in high school as well as sitting behind former Gator and current Arkansas Razorback quarterback Feleipe Franks, Trask finally got his opportunity to start after an injury to Franks last season. Considering how much Mullen likes to use quarterbacks in the running game and on designed rollouts, going from Franks to a 6-foot-5, 230-pound statue in Trask did set off some alarm bells. However, Trask’s arm talent and poise as a passer are far superior to Franks, and he has helped jump-start the Gators’ offense as a result.

Trask had always shown off an A+ arm in terms of raw talent and strength, but the end of last season and the first game of this season shows how he is really starting to understand and perfect the finer points of quarterback play. In 13 games dating back to last year, Trask has shown that he can avoid turnovers (32 touchdown passes against seven picks), deliver the ball accurately and on time (67 percent completion), and go deep down the field (8.4 yards per attempt). If he keeps getting better and orchestrating this elite offense, a Heisman might not be totally unrealistic.

Kyle Pitts is the best tight end in the country and a likely first-round pick

In what is supposed to be a very deep tight end class in the 2021 draft, Pitts has frequently been mentioned as the best pro prospect at that position in the country, fighting off competition from Miami’s Brevin Jordan and Penn State’s Pat Freiermuth. The gap between Pitts and those two widened significantly after last week. Florida moves Pitts all around the offense, using him as an H-back, slot receiver, and wide receiver. Given his speed, route-running and verticality, it’s easy to see why Mullen is spending so much time trying to scheme him open.

While this term gets overused in modern player evaluation, Florida unearthed and developed a true matchup nightmare in Pitts, as his tight end size and wide receiver athletic ability make putting both linebackers and smaller slot cornerbacks on him, which is exactly what Ole Miss tried to do, a complete death sentence.

Until someone proves they can stop it, expect Mullen to dial-up Trask to Pitts plays as frequently as his gameplan will allow. The Gators will take on a reeling South Carolina team this Saturday, and that game presents another opportunity for Trask and Pitts to help lead the Gators’ SEC East title push, make their cases for the Heisman Trophy and the Mackey Award and boost their NFL Draft stock.

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