“I Just Feel Very Welcome Already”
May 10th, 2021
“Let’s love the kid up, Tommy.”
Bucco Bruce Arians and new Bucs backup quarterback Kyle Trask were hanging out over the weekend.
The rookie from the University of Florida and the greatest head coach in Buccaneers history were mingling at the annual Dick Vitale fundraiser to combat cancer at the swanky Ritz Carlton Sarasota.
TampaBay.com had a camera operator there and captured the video below of Trask talking about the warm embrace, much of it virtual, that he’s received from his Bucs teammates.
“I just feel very welcome already,” Trask explained.
Gators head coach Dan Mullen also was in attendance and was quoted talking about how Trask surely will be ready when his number is called. That jibes with Bucs general manager Jason Licht’s fresh comments about Trask being “a maniacal worker.”
We'd be shook if Tom Brady texted us, too, Kyle pic.twitter.com/Ctjs77Xbwx
— Sports by Tampa Bay Times (@TBTimes_Sports) May 8, 2021
May 10th, 2021 at 1:06 pm
He needs to lose the gut. At least 25lbs immediately
May 10th, 2021 at 1:07 pm
Love the pick! Dude seems to understand what his job/ why he was brought in. Love that he was not handed any jobs in his career.
May 10th, 2021 at 1:16 pm
1st qb drafted by Bucs in many years (decade or more) that makes the Bucs future appealing… Not a Gator fan at all BUT that many attempts ending in that many TDs and so few interceptions, FINALLY a young, legit QB talent!
May 10th, 2021 at 1:28 pm
So Med Pete, I’m guessing you’re going to be the Tmax to Trask’s Gerald McCoy?
May 10th, 2021 at 1:46 pm
@Medicated Pete you want a string bean behind center?
May 10th, 2021 at 2:00 pm
Not to slight Trask – who took advantage of his opportunity, when it came along…But someone should have asked Mullens what kept Trask from beating Filipe Franks out for the starting QB job at UF….Why he could not get on the field until Franks got injured at UK in 2019.
(Had Franks not gotten hurt…It’s highly doubtful that Trask would have even been on a NFL teams radar as a UDFA – let alone get drafted.)
May 10th, 2021 at 2:02 pm
If my knee-jerk assumption from this interview is correct, he doesn’t sound like an a**hole. That’s a good start. Whether he becomes a starter or perennial backup, having a player that knows how to get along with both players and coaches can extend your career in the NFL.
Fitzpatrick, McCown, and Luke Stocker come to mind.
May 10th, 2021 at 2:07 pm
@catcard202 While that’s a good question, do we want to know the answer? I’m scared I won’t like the answer, whatever it could be, so maybe we just call it “unleashed potential”… Yep… sounds good to me haha
May 10th, 2021 at 2:18 pm
Yes, something kept various coaches from making Trask their starter right away. So what! He wasn’t drafted in the first round either.
I believe he has just as much chance as any to emerge as a starter at the NFL level. If not, he can become a high-quality backup with a long career. Not too shabby for a loaded Super Bowl winner that has the luxury of taking a few chances all over their roster.
May 10th, 2021 at 2:18 pm
The questions surrounding Trask can be valid, but what raises questions for me are the folks doing the questioning. A lot of detractors were Jameis apologists, and it seems as if some folks are all hung up on arm strength, and not decision making and turnover margin?
I just want to win every single Sunday. Give me Uncle Rico who can throw the ball over “dem there mountains”, or give me a guy who is pinpoint and on time with decisions, no matter- just win baby!
May 10th, 2021 at 2:44 pm
My guess is that the mobile QB opens up the playbook in ways Trask cannot. Especially at the High School and College level. We are seeing that now in the pros, we forget that Brady is truly a dinosaur that breaks the mold.
May 10th, 2021 at 2:57 pm
Every Bucs rookie will likely play in an actual 2021 game, except Trask. Why are we talking about him ad nauseum when the others are so much more interesting?
Joe Tryon. Have JPP, Shaq, or Vea reached out to Joe?
Robert Hainsey. Where they line him up will give us some indication on how the Bucs are thinking in 2022. Are they more likely to lose Jensen or Cappa?
Jaelon Darden. How does he feel about being a P/K returner? Can he crack into stacked WR lineup?
May 10th, 2021 at 3:21 pm
I guess we are just going to beat this to death…..
I mean, who cares he was a Gator….it’s an SEC team right?….that’s good.
Seems like he has some humility….assuming he’s a good character off the field.
Let’s give the man a chance….how ’bout it?
May 10th, 2021 at 3:25 pm
Rookies will practice outside and the veterans will practice in the air conditioned building.
May 10th, 2021 at 3:37 pm
You think he will be able to run if he loses the gut ? Perhaps Guerrero can switch him from his Bud Light diet to avocado elixir
May 10th, 2021 at 3:57 pm
202
injuries…
Trask was redshirted in his first year at Florida in 2016.
Trask did not see any action in 2017 at Florida.
He was originally intended to compete with Feleipe Franks for the starting job, but suffered an injury which cost him the season.
In 2018, he played in four games as a backup to Franks, completing 14 of 22 passes for 162 yards and a touchdown. His season came to an end after he again injured his foot during practice.
2019
Trask entered his junior year in 2019 again as a backup to Franks. After Franks was injured, Trask took over as the starter.
if not for injuries, Trask wouldve beaten franks out earlier…
GO BUCS!!!!
May 10th, 2021 at 3:59 pm
Yeah Medpete said he would get over the draft in a few days……. a few days ago.
May 10th, 2021 at 4:07 pm
A QB’s weight is meaningless, and in fact it certainly seems heavier QBs tend to get injured less. Of course we also have the example of fat Josh Freeman vs 6-pack Josh Freeman. One was a pro-bowl level clutch QB, one was a disaster.
May 10th, 2021 at 4:42 pm
Rod munch,
Heavy, 2010, Josh Freeman was great to watch. 4:1 TD:Turnover ratio
May 10th, 2021 at 4:53 pm
813… I know the UF history well…My point was more targeted towards:
1) Hard to believe Mullen’s could not see that Franks – though talented… was never a good fit for his offense. (recruited by McElwain’s staff)
2) Trask had some redeeming qualities (also recruited by McElmain’s staff) – but was so unproven that Franks – a terrible fit for Mullen’s system…Was still the club-house leader among QB’s.
3) Emory Jones – The guy Mullen’s wanted to win the QB job in 2018 & 2019 & 2020 has never lived up to the HS hype.
May 10th, 2021 at 5:19 pm
Seems like recent Buc’s pickups either thru draft or free agency appear to be guys that are very hard workers. Maybe harder workers than others at similar draft spots. Is Antoine Winfield more physically gifted than other safeties drafted last year? I do not think so. But he works and studies more than the rest of them.
Hainsey was a two year captain but switched at senior bowl from guard to center.
Darden did not have anyone who wanted him after high school. …known as a maniacal worker, and he doesn’t lack for drive or determination…
K.J. Britt was a starters as a freshman in high school. Started playing at 5. He completed his degree already. He was named best linebacker on his team at the Senior Bowl. At Auburn… …described as the “pulse of the
team” and a natural leader who stays dialed in to football 24/7…
Stuard – Plays with a full tank and relentless motor on every play… senior captain
So for Trask, he graduated with his sport management degree (August 2019) and received his master’s degree (December 2020). He became the leader for the Gators. He works hard even when on the bench in high school and college.
May 10th, 2021 at 5:49 pm
MedicatedPete, who are you, Ray Perkins?
May 10th, 2021 at 6:47 pm
Geez Medicated: you act like this kid is the reincarnation of Sonny Jurgesen or Billy Kilmer. Lighten up.
May 10th, 2021 at 8:35 pm
What’s wrong with fat guys……Swaggy was fat.
May 10th, 2021 at 8:42 pm
MediPete is just a sour note cuz he is a Jameass Winsnone lover
May 10th, 2021 at 9:34 pm
JayMiss had a gut early on too.
Ut oh.
May 10th, 2021 at 10:06 pm
Jorgensen and Kilmer were fat, and also legendary. As it has been pointed out, fat Josh Freeload was way better than Drug-addled Josh Failman. And who could forget Jared Lorenzen?
FYI, Trask is not fat.
May 10th, 2021 at 11:23 pm
I’m gonna give Medicated the benefit of the doubt in that when he said “He”, he meant BA.
We want him around for a long time.
In BA I Trust!
May 11th, 2021 at 1:25 am
Awesome. Cool to hear from the new guy.
May 11th, 2021 at 3:04 am
Catcard202, imagine Drew Bledsoe never got hurt…
Maybe the football world wouldn’t have heard about a young QB named Tom Brady, who btw struggled to win the starting job at Michigan and was in a weird QB roulette in his senior year.
May 11th, 2021 at 7:04 am
German Buc said it first. Why didn’t TB start, until Bledsoe got hurt ? It is not an important question or a sign of anything.
Lighten up on Trask and give him a chance. Let him get coached up and learn the play book first. Relax.
May 11th, 2021 at 9:09 am
Some of you youngsters don’t remember Billy Kilmer, or Sonny Jorgenson. They had real beer guts made from real beer!
May 11th, 2021 at 10:25 am
I think that the college game is attempting to change the mold for QBs. Lamar, Mahomes, Kyler, et all make a case for a mobile QB. Franks kinda fits that, Trask is the old school, slow, big guy QB.
His forty five TDS and the Bucs winning the stupor bowl prove that the old school QB is not a dead issue. Accuracy still counts. Trask will be better than fine, eventually.
May 12th, 2021 at 6:22 am
Hold on, now I respect BA. But calling him the greatest head coach in Bucs history. That’s a little premature. John Gruden is one of the greatest head coach in history.
May 12th, 2021 at 9:56 am
Did anyone see the 1st quarter of Trasks’ last bowl game
May 12th, 2021 at 5:31 pm
Julio, lay off the crack.