The Gators return to Ben Hill Griffin Stadium on Saturday to face Tennessee. (Photo: Tim Casey/UAA Communications)
Game Day: Tennessee at Florida, noon (ESPN)
Saturday, September 21, 2019 | Football, Chris Harry
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By: Chris Harry, Senior Writer
GAINESVILLE, Fla. — Kyle Trask wore No. 18 at Manvel High in Texas while he mostly watched from the sidelines as a backup quarterback. When he arrived at Florida as a freshman in 2016 he was given No. 11.
Earlier this week, Trask was asked if he understood the significance of a No. 11 Florida jersey.
Kyle Trask (11)
"Absolutely," he said. "For sure."
Before etching his name in UF football lore last weekend at Kentucky, Trask had thrown just 27 passes in his four collegiate seasons, all in late-game mop-up duty, and all three but at home. But when the No. 9 Gators (3-0, 1-0) face Tennessee (1-2, 0-0) in their Southeastern Conference home opener, Trask will become the first quarterback since … well, you know … to start a game at Spurrier/Florida Field in the No. 11.
"We never had a guy who wore it in high school that wanted it," Steve Spurrier, the former Heisman Trophy winner, record-setting coach, current ambassador to UF athletics and all-time No. 11 said earlier this week. "It was mostly defensive guys. At least it was until I left."
Spurrier, of course, returned to his alma mater, by way of Duke, as head coach in 1990. His old number 11 had been retired since his Heisman-winning season of 1966, one of just two retired digits in program history. The other was the No. 55 worn by linebacker Scot Brantley from 1977-79.
Ben Hanks (11)
It was Spurrier's idea to un-retire the two numbers in 1991. In the case of his number, Spurrier declared 11 would go to a defensive player, and the first one to get it was Miami linebacker Ben Hanks, who originally was denied admission by the university due to academics, but rallied to meet the standards and in doing so, Spurrier believed, demonstrated how much he wanted to be a Gator.
Hanks was redshirted for the '91 season and became a stalwart and captain on UF's defense during the '92-95 seasons.
Trivia: The first scholarship player to bring 55 out of retirement was Jerome Evans, by way of Avon Park. Evans came in as a linebacker in '93, but was moved to fullback (and to No. 34) midway through his freshman year and played it during UF's national-championship season of 1996.
In the more than quarter-century since, the No. 11 has been donned every year with the exception of the 1996 and 2007 seasons, along the way migrating to the offensive side of the ball and also to multiple players wearing it at the same time. Example: tight end Jordan Reed, now with the Washington Redskins, and linebacker Neiron Ball, who died last week following complications from a stroke, both wore 11 during the 2012 season. Last season, both linebacker Vosean Joseph and Trask wore it.
This year, freshman linebacker Mohamoud Diabate, who has played in all three games, is sharing the number with Trask, who has played in just two games, the last of which he distinguished himself rather significantly.
After starting quarterback Feleipe Franks suffered a season-ending ankle dislocation late in the third quarter last week at Kentucky, Trask took over in the fourth quarter — with the Gators trailing 21-10 — and engineered touchdown drives of 62, 66 and 80 yards, completing nine of 13 passes for 126 yards and rushing for a score, without a turnover. Florida won 29-21.
This time, the 6-foot-5, 239-pound Trask will face a Tennessee defense ranked seventh in the SEC (306 yards per game) that has had a week to prep for his style, rhythm and tendencies. Plus, he's had a week to process the enormity of it all and the pressure comes with being a starting center.
How will this No. 11 handle it all in the stadium named after that other No. 11.
The goal, obviously, is to do the digit proudly.
Kickoff is set for noon on ESPN, with Bob Wischusen on play-by-play, Dan Orlovsky providing analysis and Allison Williams working the sidelines.
Also, check out the "First & 10 Pre-Game Show," hosted by GatorVision's Shelby Granath, coming from the field via Facebook Live on the Florida Gators page at 6:30 p.m. This week's lineup includes chats with Mullen, Trask and graduate-transfer linebacker Jonathan Greenard, former UF tight end and Gator Radio Network sidelines reporter Tate Casey, former UF safety Michael Gilmore (back for the silver anniversary celebration of the '94 SEC champs), Gators track and field superstar Grant Holloway (this week's celebrity "Mr. Two Bits"), and "Top Chef" winner Richard Blais (a huge Gators fan).
Finally, follow senior staff writers Scott Carter and Chris Harry on Twitter (@GatorsScott and @GatorsChris) for commentary and analysis throughout the game. FloridaGators.com will have complete coverage content from the game Saturday night and fresh content Sunday, as well.
