Florida Football: Comparing quarterbacks with Ole Miss for 2020

Comparing the Florida, Ole Miss quarterbacks

One of the most prevalent successes for the Rebels in 2019 was the play of freshman quarterback John Rhys Plumlee. Although he split time with former Florida commit Matt Corral, Plumlee was still able to rack up over 1,000 yards rushing in 2019 and broke the Ole Miss single-game rushing record with 212 yards against the reigning national champion LSU Tigers.

Plumlee was a dynamic runner and is one of college football’s most exciting young talents.

However, he was not an efficient passer, only completing 53 percent of his passes for 910 yards. The reality is that Plumlee will need more experience and development to be a true threat in the passing game. His best attribute is his speed in the open field and that’s what Gator fans should be worried about with the track record of Florida defensive coordinator Todd Grantham.

Mobile quarterbacks have been one of Grantham’s few weaknesses in his two-year tenure at Florida. The best example of this was against Kentucky in 2018. Kentucky quarterback Terry Wilson torched the Gator defense in the run game, running for 105 yards and averaging 10.5 yards a rush. Wilson is one of the only true dual-threat quarterbacks that the Gators have faced under Grantham, and it was a nightmare.

Plumlee is an even better runner than Wilson. Grantham will need a solid game plan to contain him.

Ole Miss’ other option at quarterback is Corral who had an average performance in his first year getting significant snaps. He threw for 1,362 yards with six touchdowns and three interceptions in 10 games. His best game came against Arkansas early in 2019, where he threw for 246 yards and a pair of touchdowns while completing 67 percent of his passes.

Plumlee was the starter for the Rebels by the end of the year however and many experts expect him to be the starter to begin 2020.

With the Big Ten and the Pac-12 opting out of the 2020 season, Florida quarterback Kyle Trask will be in the Heisman conversation. The Gators are projected to be a top five team by many experts and if they are successful on the field, Trask will get national attention. Although I’m hesitant to name him a true Heisman contender, he has positioned himself to be the best returning starter in the SEC.

Trask’s numbers speak for themself. In 10 starts, he threw for 2,941 yards and produced 29 total touchdowns with only seven interceptions. He also completed 67 percent of his passes on the year, which was 12th in college football.

Furthermore, Trask performed well in big games. Like Plumlee, Trask’s most notable big game performance came against LSU. In the first road start of his career, he threw for 310 yards and three touchdowns under the lights of Death Valley. Unfazed by the raucous crowd, Trask also completed 59 percent of his passes in that game. It was an incredible performance for a guy who’d only started three games up to that point.

Even against one of the best defenses in the country in Georgia, Trask was still one of Florida’s top performers. In a tough loss, he completed 64 percent of his passes for 257 yards and two touchdowns. The slow pacing of the game made it difficult for Trask. But he played well in the fourth quarter, throwing a beautiful jump ball touchdown to now-Los Angeles Rams receiver Van Jefferson.

We should expect Trask’s big-game performances to rise to even greater heights as he gains more experience in high-pressure situations and he will have another opportunity in Oxford on Sept. 26.

The bottom line

Florida had a proven commodity in Trask. He has performed in big games and he’s been efficient with the ball. Although Plumlee had his moments of brilliance in 2019, Ole Miss doesn’t have a clear starter. Both of their options (Plumlee and Corral) have been inconsistent passers on a bad team. The clear advantage goes to Florida here.