Gators duo continues to earn national praise for historic season
GAINESVILLE, Fla. – Florida’s Kyle Pitts and Kyle Trask were named to the Sporting News All-America team, SN announced on Tuesday.
Pitts was named to the first team while Trask was named to the second team.
Johnny Townsend (second team) was the last Gator to be named to the Sporting News All-America team in 2017.
Florida’s last first-team member of the Sporting News All-America team was Vernon Hargreaves in 2015.
Pitts quickly became the best tight end and one of the top pass catchers in the country this season with 43 receptions, 770 yards and 12 touchdowns.
Pitts’ 12 receiving touchdowns this season are the second-highest total by a tight end in SEC history. Vanderbilt’s Allama Matthews (14 in 1982) holds the SEC record. His 770 yards this year tie Kirk Kirkpatrick (1990) for second on Florida’s single-season record list for receiving yards by a tight end.
The junior is the first tight end in Gators history and the eighth FBS tight end in the last five years (including 2020) with three games of 100-plus receiving yards in the same season.
Trask has thrown for 4,125 yards and 43 touchdowns this season as he has led one of the most explosive offenses in the country.
The Manvel, Texas native leads the FBS this season in total touchdowns (46), touchdown passes, passing yards and passing yards per game (375). His passer rating of 186.65 is No. 5 in the nation.
Trask’s three touchdown passes against Alabama in the Southeastern Conference Championship Game made him the ninth player in FBS history to throw at least 43 touchdown passes through the first 11 games of a season. Of those nine, Trask is one of three to accomplish the feat with fewer than 50 attempts per game.
The redshirt-senior is one of 29 FBS quarterbacks since 1996 to log five 400-yard passing games in a season and is the only SEC quarterback to accomplish the feat within that span.
Trask is responsible for 46 touchdowns (43 passing, 3 rushing), which is second on UF’s single season record list to Tim Tebow’s 55 (32 pass, 23 rush) from his 2007 Heisman-winning campaign.
His 46 touchdowns are also tied with Texas A&M’s Johnny Manziel (2013) for sixth on the SEC single-season record list.
