SOUTHEASTERN CONFERENCE FOOTBALL CHAMPIONSHIP GAME: FLORIDA VS ALABAMA

December 19, 2020

Kyle Trask

Mercedes-Benz Stadium

Florida Gators

Alabama 52, Florida 46

THE MODERATOR: Questions, please.

Q. Kyle, after the sack and the game is ticking down, what is going through your mind? Seems like you were having a little emotion going on as the game ended.

KYLE TRASK: Yeah, it's just a tough loss. I mean, we worked extremely, extremely hard for this game. We prepare like no other. We were clicking on offense. We were rolling pretty good. We just ran out of time.

We go down to score, we kick the extra point to win the game. If we just had a little bit more time, we're sitting here the SEC champions.

Q. At some point will you sit back and have a chance to look at what you did this year on a personal level?

KYLE TRASK: I mean, probably not today (smiling).

Yeah, my time at Florida has been unreal and special. I've grown so much physically and mentally. So, yeah, I mean, it's just a really tough loss. We worked so hard.

We earned the right to be here. We played our tails off. At the end of the day I got to give credit to Alabama. But I think we just ran out of time.

Q. What was it like to be in the middle of that one? Exciting to watch. What was it like being in the battle?

KYLE TRASK: I mean, you love it. That's why you play football, is to play in games like these. No one in the world gave us a damn chance. We believed in ourselves. The only people that truly have an effect on the game are the people in the building. We worked so hard. Like I said before, we just ran out of time.

Q. Coach made a comment that this is the last time this team will be together. I'm sure he's implying maybe some opt-outs and things. You would want to go through a bowl game together, I would assume? Are you going to bond on that and try to win that last game together?

KYLE TRASK: I mean, yeah. As of right now obviously we don't know what bowl game we're in. I mean, I don't have a whole lot of information regarding, like you said, opt-outs and stuff. I don't know about all that. We'll just have to see in the near future.

Q. What do you think this does for the future of the program, go toe-to-toe with the team that's dominated this league for so long?

KYLE TRASK: Definitely should put some respect on our name. Like I said, no one gave us a chance. We knew we were fully prepared to come out here and win the game.

But, yeah, I mean, this team is going to continue to get back to Atlanta. Hopefully we'll get the victory in the next coming years, hopefully next year.

Q. You talked about being here in 2016, holding onto that, the backpack. You saw what it took to get back here. What will it take to make that next step?

KYLE TRASK: You got to keep your foot on the gas pedal. You get to the game, you can't get complacent, we made it to the SEC championship. You have to keep on taking those jumps and improving. I think Coach Mullen and his staff are going to keep that pressure on. He's going to do just that. We're going to have a great team next year, as well.

Q. You've got an extra year of eligibility because of COVID. Have you considered that at all or do you feel like you're heading to the NFL?

KYLE TRASK: I haven't really thought too much. I'll talk with my coaches and my family, make that decision in the future, the near future.

Q. Moving forward, if you had a message to Heisman Trophy voters, what would be your message to them? What would it mean to you to be a finalist?

KYLE TRASK: I mean, it would mean everything to be a finalist. It's such an honor. Just to have been in the conversation this whole season has been an honor. Basically my message would just be to evaluate the level of play throughout the entire season.

Q. Did you get an explanation from the coaches about the timeout after the touchdown before the two-point conversion? What was the conversation on the sideline?

KYLE TRASK: I'm not exactly sure what was going on. We were just kind of out there on the field, sideline, back on the field. We weren't really sure what the plan was. Coach told us we were going to go for two.

I'm not 100% sure. I believe he just wanted to get a good play called in to get the two-point conversion, then we could get a stop or get an on-side kick, then we could kick the extra point to win the game.

Q. KT, Copeland, I know it hurts tonight, but what will the legacy of this offense be?

KYLE TRASK: I mean, if you look at the big picture, you just think of explosiveness. The amount of explosive plays we had this whole season, with all the guys that you named, it's unreal. I can't even imagine what it's like being a defense and you turn on the tape, we're winning all of our one-on-one matchups, making plays.

Yeah, it's been a pleasure to just have all of these play-makers around me. It really helped me out. It made our offense a lot more efficient.

THE MODERATOR: Thank you.

KYLE TRASK: Thank you.