Buccaneers, Kyle Trask know what they are getting in each other

There were many skeptics around the interwebs of the Buccaneers draft selection of Florida Gators quarterback Kyle Trask in the second round. But as is the norm around the league, teams and players don’t care about what the fans and media have to say about them.

That’s also the case for the Bucs and Trask.

Tampa Bay’s selection of Trask already sparked the conversation of Trask being Brady’s eventual replacement. However, for now, Trask is simply looking forward to learning behind him.

“They definitely have a great system going on down there in Tampa,” Trask said. “I have an opportunity to learn from one of the greats that I watched growing up, being one of my favorites. To have that opportunity is truly remarkable, but nevertheless I’m going to come in, work my tail off and do whatever I can to help this team.”

Trask is confident is his abilities. He never wavered from the challenges he faced in Florida, having to sit before he got his turn to lead the Gators offense.

The Bucs, too, are confident in what the young signal caller can potentially bring to the table at the NFL level. Head coach Bruce Arians touched on what he likes most in Trask and compared him to a formal Super Bowl wining quarterback who also played in Tampa Bay.

“His competitive spirit,” Arians said. “In today’s day, everybody transfers. Things don’t go right, you transfer. He hung in there and fought it out. I’ve got all the respect in the world for Dan Mullen. He’s a good friend [and] he does a hell of a job with quarterbacks. And Todd Grantham I coached with. We did our homework. Everything about [Trask] – he’s accurate, he’s smart, he’s tough, he knows how to move inside the pocket. We don’t draft guys to run, we draft them to throw. And he’s accurate as hell. Really excited about him. People always want to compare people. To me, [Trask] is like Brad Johnson – and he was pretty damn good.”

Trask was 552‐of‐813 passing for 7,386 yards and 69 touchdowns in his career at Florida. He led the FBS in passing touchdowns with 43 and in total touchdowns of 46. His accuracy and decision making skills were a selling point for the Bucs and general manager Jason Licht, who is looking forward to seeing what the former Gator standout can do in a Bucs uniform while learning from one of the best.

“He’s tough. He’s very smart. He’s a great teammate, great leader. He has plenty of arm talent – great touch. He’s a quick processor and he’s played very well there,” Licht said. “I love his story of perseverance. The guy’s a fighter. He’s a competitor and once again, a great team player. He’s had a lot of great players there at Florida he’s thrown the ball around to, and has had a lot of success. And we have a lot of great players here too. Looking forward to having him in the building and in time developing him. Like I said in the previous press conference, this is a great place for a quarterback to come and be groomed. To be playing with the G.O.A.T. (Tom Brady) and you have some great, great coaching – great coaching staff.”

While there may not be an immediate impact in Tampa Bay, one thing is certain. Both Tampa Bay and Trask himself are confident in how this can potentially play out.