ATHENS, Ga. – It’s a debate that didn’t exist during the summer, but it’s alive and well now.
Who will be the better quarterback at this week’s Georgia-Florida football game, Jake Fromm of the Bulldogs or Kyle Trask of the Gators? Fromm started out the season ranked among the top 10 Heisman Trophy candidates, while Trask was the backup to Feleipe Franks and had not been a starter since ninth grade.
Fromm certainly has the superior career to this point, but it’s Trask who is the hotter of the two heading to Jacksonville.
“Trask is a great quarterback,” Bulldogs senior safety J.R. Reed said Monday. “You watch him play, and he makes some incredible throws against some incredible teams. Some of the decisions that he makes are unbelievable, so containing him and giving him different looks will be big.”
Trask, a 6-foot-5, 239-pound redshirt junior from Manvel, Texas, replaced injured starter Franks during the Sept. 14 game at Kentucky, entering with the Gators down 21-10 in the third quarter and rallying them to a 29-21 triumph. He hasn’t looked back since, completing 114 of 169 passes (67.5%) for 1,391 yards with 14 touchdowns and four interceptions.
His efficiency rating of 159.2 ranks 16th nationally and is superior to Fromm’s 152.2 rating, which is 28th nationally. Franks had an efficiency rating of 173.3 before dislocating his ankle, but a 25-of-27 performance in the second game against UT-Martin accounted for much of that.
“Feleipe was really good at extending plays and creating a little more with his feet,” Georgia coach Kirby Smart said Monday. “I wouldn’t say that he’s a runner, but he could run, and it’s the same way with Trask. He’s a big, physical guy, and when he decides to run – you don’t stop him for minimal gains on designed quarterback runs. I think he’s gotten the confidence of the receivers with his ability to throw the ball. When he came in the game at Kentucky, you saw it right away.
Florida quarterback Kyle Trask gets a lift from left tackle Stone Forsythe last Saturday night after Trask’s 4-yard touchdown run with 4:11 remaining gave the Gators a 22-21 lead in their eventual 29-21 win at Kentucky. / Florida photo by Tim Casey“He’s a natural passer. He brings value to the rest of their team because of his ability to throw the ball. He makes them harder to defend because their best players and their weapons are perimeter players. When you look at what he’s done, he makes you defend all 53 yards.”
Trask is coming off consecutive performances at LSU and at South Carolina in which he completed 44 of 72 passes for 510 yards with seven touchdowns and two interceptions. The last Florida quarterback to throw for seven touchdowns in consecutive road games was Tim Tebow in 2008.
Fromm, meanwhile, has a lofty 29-6 career record as Georgia’s starter, which includes a 9-5 mark against Top 25 teams. He already ranks among the top five in program history in completions (510), passing yards (6,770) and touchdown tosses (63).
During his two starts in this Southeastern Conference Eastern Division rivalry, Fromm has helped guide the Bulldogs to two wins by the combined score of 78-24.
“He’s a really smart player who always gets them into the right plays,” Florida coach Dan Mullen said. “He can check and manage what’s going on, and he’s an accurate guy with the ball in his hand. He also has the ability to extend some plays.
“They don’t do a lot of quarterback run game with him, but he’s athletic when he has to scramble and can make things happen.”
Fromm has completed 123 of 174 attempts (70.7%) this season for 1,406 yards with nine touchdowns and three interceptions.
Two of his three worst statistical games, however, have occurred in his last two outings. The 6-2, 220-pound junior from Warner Robins suffered the first three-interception game of his career in the 20-17 upset loss to South Carolina in double overtime, and he threw for just 35 yards his last time out against Kentucky in miserable conditions.
Fromm has not let those two games linger, according to his teammates.
“His mental state is the best I’ve ever seen,” Bulldogs junior running back D’Andre Swift said. “He never gets down on himself. He’s the same way every day.”
Odds and ends
Smart said Monday that he is hoping to have graduate transfer receiver Lawrence Cager and sophomore cornerback Tyson Campbell for Saturday, but Monday’s practice was closed to the media. Georgia’s game next Saturday against Missouri in Sanford Stadium will be televised by ESPN at 7 p.m.
Contact David Paschall at dpaschall@timesfreepress.com or 423-757-6524.