University of Miami quarterback D'Eriq King

At birth, Kyle Trask was named after Texas A&M’s Kyle Field.

The Florida Gators quarterback will now forever associated with a Longhorn Legend.

Trask, a native of Manvel, was named the recipient of The Eighth Annual Earl Campbell Tyler Rose Award during a virtual ceremony on Thursday.

“I’m honored to present the award to Kyle Trask,” Earl Campbell, the 1977 Heisman Trophy winner at Texas, said from Austin. “All of these players had incredible seasons. They all deserved their place as a finalist.”

Trask, who was training in Irvine, California for the NFL Draft, was elated by earning the honor.

“I want to thank my teammates for always having my back during this up-and-down season,” Trask said. “My lineman always did a great job and the running backs always ran hard and always did a great job on pass protection; and my receivers.

“I want to thank Earl Campbell and his committee for this great honor of representing the state of Texas.”

Trask thanked his family “for always being in my corner” and his coaches “for putting me in position to succeed.”

Trask noted his grandfather (Olivier Trask) played for the Houston Oilers in the early 1960s, helping the Oilers win the first American Football Conference championship in 1960.

“Growing up, my grandpa always told me how Earl Campbell ran the football and how Earl would throw around players at the University of Texas,” he said.

CBS radio and television host Brian Jones, a former All-Southwest Conference linebacker at Texas, was the emcee. Normally, a gala is held in Tyler but this year the ceremony was held virtually due to COVID-19.

Jones was in West Palm Beach, Florida. The former NFL player interviewed all the candidates before the announcement of the winner.

Trask threw for 4,283 yards and 43 touchdowns this season as he led one of the most explosive offenses in the country in the Florida Gators. He led the FBS this season in total touchdowns (46) and touchdown passes, while ranking second in passing yards.

Trask set a single-season school record with five 400-yard passing games; he was one of two FBS players this year and one of two SEC players (Mac Jones) since at least 1996 with five such games in a season.

Trask was 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. Trask broke the single-season school record for passing yards per game (356.9), narrowly finishing ahead of Rex Grossman’s 2001 season (354.2).

The other four finalists for the award were:

Jaelon Darden, North Texas, wide receiver, senior, Houston (Eisenhower HS);

D’Eriq King, Miami, quarterback, redshirt-senior, Manvel (Manvel HS);

Sincere McCormick, UTSA, running back, sophomore, Converse (Judson HS);

Kellen Mond, Texas A&M, quarterback, senior, San Antonio (IMG Academy).

Darden was in Frisco for the broadcast with King in Miami, McCormick in San Antonio and Mond in Weston, Florida.

Sponsors for The Earl Campbell Tyler Rose Award virtual ceremony were: City 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/Sharon and James Wynne, Chesley and Ted W. Walters, Austin Bank, Tyler Morning Telegraph, American State Bank, BMW of Tyler, Prothro, Wilhelmi & Company, Texas Bank and Trust, Tyler Junior College, and The University of Texas at Tyler.

The Earl Campbell Tyler Rose Award, announced in 2012 by the Tyler Chamber and SPORTyler, recognizes the top offensive player in Division I football who also exhibits the enduring characteristics that define Earl Campbell: integrity, performance, teamwork, sportsmanship, drive, community, and tenacity; specifically tenacity to persist and determination to overcome adversity and injury in pursuit of reaching goals.

In addition, the nominee must meet one or more of the following criteria: born in Texas and/or graduated from a Texas High School and/or played at a Texas-based junior college or four-year Division I Texas college.

The voting committee co-chaired by Kirk Bohls, Austin American-Statesman, and Phil Hicks, Tyler Morning Telegraph, included 43 broadcasters, commentators, and journalists from across the country as well as fans and the previous winners of the honor were — 2013: Bryce Petty, Baylor, QB, junior, Midlothian (Midlothian HS); 2014: Trevone Boykin, QB, TCU, junior, Dallas (West Mesquite HS); 2015: Greg Ward Jr., Houston, QB, junior, Tyler, (John Tyler HS); 2016: D’Onta Foreman, Texas, RB, junior, Texas City, (Texas City HS); 2017: Baker Mayfield, Oklahoma, QB, senior, Austin, (Lake Travis HS); 2018: Kyler Murray, Oklahoma, QB, junior, Allen, (Allen HS); and 2019: J.K. Dobbins, RB, Ohio State, junior, LaGrange, (LaGrange HS).

Go to www.earlcampbellaward.com for a replay of the ceremony.

TWITTER: @PhilHicksETFS