Bradshaw And Meyer Weigh In: Trask Is Mechanically Inclined And Has Reached Elite Status
Terry Bradshaw has thrown a lot of footballs in his 72 years on planet earth.
He was in fifth grade when Santa Claus left a football under the Christmas tree and it was glued to his hand from that point forward.
His years of throwing the football at different parts of the swing set led him to be a four-time Super Bowl winning quarterback with the Pittsburgh Steelers. And all of this is worth mentioning to assure you that when Bradshaw talks quarterbacks and throwing mechanics, everyone should listen (looking at you, Heisman voters).
In a recent episode of the “Best Fridays In Football” podcast hosted by GatorBait’s Buddy Martin, Bradshaw explained why Florida quarterback Kyle Trask has been having a “Joe Burrow-like day” this season.
Through six ball games, Trask has thrown for 2,171 yards and leads the country with 28 passing touchdowns. And while much of that can be attributed to the countless weapons Trask has at his fingertips and the tremendous work John Hevesy’s guys are doing up front, according to Bradshaw, much of it has to do with Trask being mechanically inclined.
“I’ve watched him, not as closely as I want to, but I’ve said he throws a beautiful ball,” Bradshaw insisted. “Those long balls that really turn nice, it’s got great spin, or what they like to say rotation. He just throws a beautiful ball.”
According to SEC StatCat, Trask has his hand in an explosive pass play 17.54% of the time.
“I know he can gun it,” Bradshaw told Martin. “And a lot of people may say he doesn’t have a strong enough arm… Oh, yeah he does. If you’re playing in Division I football, you got a strong enough arm.”
Trask hasn’t had to launch too many moonshots in 2020. His longest pass of 2020 came in week one against Ole Miss when he connected with Kyle Pitts for a 71-yard score. However, Pitts collected the ball at the Rebels’ 40-yard line, meaning Trask’s pass traveled just 31 yards.
However, a 37-yard pass to Kadarius Toney against Texas A&M (see timestamp 4:22) might be a better testament to Trask’s power, while still staying precise.
But what Bradshaw gushes about is Trask’s release, and even goes as far as to compare Trask to Drew Brees, Peyton Manning and Tom Brady.
“Most kids palm the football,” Bradshaw explains. “I threw the football with my fingers. You can throw a prettier ball palming it. Matter of fact, I will say this, if I came back today, I would palm the football.
“When you palm a football and hold it, the nose automatically points down. So therefore, you gotta have the cup of your hand releasing upwards to get the nose of the ball to release upwards instead of down. And when you release it with the nose up, the ball gets air and the ball sails prettier and you can throw it farther. And it’ll turn over into the wind faster. In other words, the nose of the ball will go up and then it’ll turn down into the wind.”
The importance of this, Bradshaw explains, is that when the nose of the ball is pointing downwards, it makes it difficult for receivers to get underneath the ball. Instead, he had to catch on top of the ball.
When you look at Kyle Trask’s release, more often than not, the nose of the football is pointing upwards.
Another interesting point about Trask is his comfort in throwing the football without using the laces, which Bradshaw recognizes as another type of release.
Another frequent flyer on the “Best Friday’s In Football” podcast, former Florida head coach Urban Meyer, who has seen his fair share of talented quarterbacks, also has high praise to offer Trask.
“We made the comment… both of us,” Meyer told Martin following the Gators’ win over Georgia. “Kyle Trask has to go from being a really good quarterback to a great quarterback and he’s done that.”
As Martin reminded Florida’s former head coach, Meyer said that if Trask went on to beat Georgia and throw a couple of touchdown passes in the process, then he would be categorized as “elite” in Meyer’s eyes.
And he did that, too.
“He’s a Heisman candidate, he’s an elite quarterback… he’s earned that right,” Meyer said.
Now, reorganizing the bronze statues outside of The Swamp will be no easy feat. But if the Heisman voters see the same promise Bradshaw and Meyer see, it just might have to be done.
Hopefully Scott Stricklin still has the sculptor’s phone number.
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