The show went on: Kyle Trask wins 8th Annual Earl Campbell Tyler Rose Award

Published 8:33 pm Thursday, January 28, 2021

Many prestigious award ceremonies and honors were canceled in 2020 and now 2021 because of the COVID-19 pandemic.

For SPORTyler and the Tyler Area Chamber of Commerce, a lot of planning and creativity ensured the 8th Annual Earl Campbell Tyler Rose Award ceremony took place Thursday night.

With the host in Florida, Campbell in Austin, a studio in Tyler and five finalists watching from home, the show went on.

Florida quarterback Kyle Trask, who attended high school in Manvel (one of the requirements to win the award is a Texas-tie), was named the 2021 winner.

In his acceptance speech, Trask mentioned his grandfather, Orville Trask, played for the Houston Oilers and told him stories about Earl Campbell as a player for the Oilers.

Campbell, who wore No. 20 when he won a state championship with the John Tyler High Lions and the Heisman Trophy at the University of Texas, switched to No. 34 with the Oilers.

Trask said he wore 34 in Little League as a tribute to Campbell. he wore No. 11 for the Florida Gators. The senior is now eligible for the NFL draft.

In high school Trask backed up Miami quarterback D’Eriq King at Manvel, who was also a finalist. King started his college career at University of Houston.

The other finalists were North Texas senior wide receiver Jaelon Darden (senior, hometown: Houston, high school: Eisenhower); Texas-San Antonio running back Sincere McCormick (sophomore, hometown: Converse, high school: Judson HS) and Texas A&M quarterback Kellen Mond (senior, hometown: San Antonio; high school: IMG Academy).

The award is for the top offensive player in NCAA Division I with ties to the state of Texas.

The award sponsors include: City of Tyler, BMW of Tyler, Brookshire Grocery Company, CHRISTUS Trinity Mother Frances Health System, Clements Fluids Management, LLC, Patterson Commercial Property Group, R.W. Fair Foundation, Southside Bank, TDI Air Conditioning/James and Sharon Wynne, Chesley and Ted W. Walters, Austin Bank, Prothro, Wilhelmi & Co., Tyler Morning Telegraph, American State Bank, Texas Bank and Trust, Tyler Junior College, and the University of Texas at Tyler.

A story by Phil Hicks on the ceremony and a column by Brandon Ogden start on page B1 of Friday’s Tyler Morning Telegraph.