How is Kyle Trask a different QB than Feleipe Franks?

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With his performance against Tennessee last week, the Trask Hive was loud and proud.

And deservedly so. He was incredible against the Volunteers, especially in an electric first half where he averaged 14.6 yards per attempt.

Inevitably, Trask is going to be compared to his predecessor, Feleipe Franks. Franks has taken a ton of criticism since he took over as starter in 2017. Some of that was warranted, but he was getting better with time under Dan Mullen.

If it isn’t obvious just by the eye test, Kyle Trask and Feleipe Franks are very different players. But I thought it would be interesting to look at how they are different.

Excluding the cupcake game against UT-Martin, Franks has thrown the ball 44 times to Trask’s 41. While those are still extremely small sample sizes, I do think analyzing where they threw the ball and how deep they threw it says something about the type of QBs they are.

To do that, I looked at their statistics overall and charted every throw for both QBs in the Miami, Kentucky and Tennessee games.

Overall, Franks and Trask are actually relatively even.

Comparison of Yards above Replacment (YAR) of Feleipe Franks and Kyle Trask against FBS opponents in 2019. (Will Miles/Read and Reaction)

Trask has been slightly better in his time compared to Franks. But the difference is fairly negligible given the sample size. Franks actually gets downgraded using my YAR statistic by virtue of having 10 more rushing attempts compared to Trask.

While he’s averaging more yards per rush, his average of 2.1 is still below the average of NCAA QBs and so subtracts from his value. That’s not really his fault, as the Florida offensive line hasn’t been able to push the pile the same way it did in 2018.

Conversely though, Trask has had to do more work downfield compared to Franks.

Franks vs. Trask in 2019 vs. FBS opponents taking into account yards after the catch. (Will Miles/Read and Reaction)

Owing to the long TD by Kadarius Toney in the opener versus Miami, Franks has received a lot more help from his receivers when it comes to his averages. If we subtract the yards after the catch (YAC) for each completion, Trask is throwing the ball downfield considerably more, by more than 2 yards.

And that shows up in the charted stats as well.

Franks and Trask in 2018 vs. FBS opponents based on distance thrown past the line of scrimmage. (Will Miles/Read and Reaction)

What we really see is that Franks is much more comfortable throwing the ball within 9 yards of the line of scrimmage (27 attempts to Trask’s 17) while Trask throws in the mid-range much more often (18 to Franks’ 11).

Not only is Trask throwing in the 10-19 yard range more often, but he’s more accurate as well (72% to 64%). The result is that 53 percent of his yardage has come from throws in that range, compared to 23 percent for Franks.

Franks and Trask in 2018 vs. FBS opponents throwing to their left, right and center. (Will Miles/Read and Reaction)

That’s because Trask also throws over the middle a lot more (14 attempts to 6 for Franks). Some of that is because defenses have played a lot of zone against him. But Franks has always struggled with zones precisely because he hasn’t been willing to throw over the middle a lot.

Looking at the film, these two actually show some similarities as well.

This is the beginning of the terrible interception that Franks threw against Kentucky on the opening drive. What you’ll notice is that the safeties are parallel to each other at the snap, but that the free safety comes up at the snap.

That means there is one safety in the middle of the field who can’t get to the outside. Van Jefferson beats the corner on the left side of the clip and is open for a touchdown if Franks pulls the trigger. For some reason, he doesn’t make the throw.

But Trask made similar mistakes against Tennessee.

This time the free safety comes up to guard the crossing receiver. That means there are two receivers up top with three defenders. You can see Trask hesitate to make the throw and ends up taking the sack.

Now, without the All-22 film, there’s no way to know if his man had beaten the corner. But this is a situation where you got the defense to do what you want. You have to let the ball go.

But that’s really nitpicking. Trask was great against the Volunteers. You can pick any QB and you’ll find plays where they hesitated.

The thing that really impressed me with Trask was how he handled the blitz, particularly considering what I saw from the offensive line when looking at the film.

On this play, the linebacker for Tennessee comes on a blitz. But left tackle Stone Forsythe (#72) gets completely turned around. The result is that the linebacker has a free shot at Trask, who throws a dangerous throw over the middle.

I’d like to see this throw in the dirt as opposed to off of his receiver’s hands just because of the risk of the interception. But that’s not why I’m impressed. Look at the next play.

It’s the same blitz. Trask trusts his offensive line and steps into the throw and his line does its job. The result is a big third-and-long conversion.

I still think the way to get to Trask is to blitz him. Once Tennessee started bringing more than four defenders, he was no longer able to sit back and pick apart the Volunteers’ defense. I don’t think it’s a coincidence that he only averaged 6.4 yards per attempt in the second half.

Of course, he would have averaged much more had he hit this one.

And the fact that Trask got hit on a blitz on one play and stepped into the throw against the same blitz on the next play shows an ability to forget about the previous play and learn from it all in one. That really bodes well for Trask’s development as the season progresses.

The takeaway here is that Trask’s performance in the first two games where he’s gotten real action is really encouraging, not just because he has put up good stats but because of how he is putting them up.

I don’t think the stats say that Trask is a ton better than Franks. What I do think they are telling us is that Trask has a different set of strengths that leads to a different way of moving the ball.

It just so happens that those strengths are more aesthetically pleasing because he’s taking more shots down field.

He still had three turnovers in the game and was indecisive at times against an overmatched team. He also had brought very little in the running game thus far, which is an area where Franks really brought value. With the way the Gators have run the ball thus far in 2019, this may be an issue in a close game.

Better defenses are on the way, and those defenses now have film to look at what Trask does well and take that away. How he adapts is going to be a key to look for moving forward.

Going into the Tennessee game, you had to wonder whether someone who hadn’t started since early in high school would be overwhelmed. Tennessee may not be very good, but Trask didn’t flinch at all.

The “off field issues” that the media (ESPN) has allowed to become a narrative regarding Feleipe Franks is grossly unfair. But what I do think is fair is acknowledging that he clearly has heard the criticism, so much so that he shushed his own crowd last year.

But one thing we never saw was Franks buckle under the criticism. In fact, playing with a chip on his shoulder seemed to help him excel.

At some point, Trask is going to hear that criticism too. It may be after a critical interception or after struggles against better teams.

But after his performances against Kentucky and Tennessee, I think we can be pretty sure that just like Franks, the criticism won’t make him flinch either.

This week’s pick: Florida (-33) wins, 45-10.

Picks this season: 4-0, 1-2-1 ATS

Featured image used under Creative Commons license courtesy Photo-Gator