Kansas State running back Harry Trotter isn’t letting quarantine slow him down
One of the biggest questions currently associated with college football revolves around time.
Whenever players are allowed to return to their respective campuses and begin training for the 2020 season, how long will it take them to get back into football shape?
The answer will probably vary drastically from player to player, depending on the amount of physical activity each one was able to get in as they were separated from teammates and coaches because of the coronavirus pandemic. Staying in shape is easy for some and difficult for others.
Kansas State running back Harry Trotter is the type of person who might benefit from this kind of unknown.
“My goal and my plan is to be in football shape from Day 1,” Trotter said in a phone interview. “I don’t plan on taking any steps backward. I plan on being ahead of everyone else. As a senior and as a leader, I’m going to have people counting on me. I need to be ready.”
Few college athletes are more prepared to work out on their own than Trotter. The 5-foot-11 and 202-pound rusher from Atchison pushes himself harder than most and regularly makes teammates turn their heads when he maxes out in the weight room.
Trotter is such a hard worker that he has been known to visit K-State’s student recreational center and lift weights at night after completing an already grueling daily exercise schedule for the football team. His teammates invite him to dinner, but he keeps grinding.
He might not be able to hit the gym twice a day, right now, like he prefers. But he is still finding plenty of ways to get bigger, faster and stronger in anticipation of his final season of college football.
“It’s a surreal time, but I don’t see anything about it as stressful,” Trotter said. “Everyone is in the same boat. I’m comfortable doing everything I can workout-wise and nutrition-wise, and I think that gives me an edge.”
Trotter says he has enough weights at his Manhattan home to fulfill his upper-body needs. He goes to local parks to work on everything else. Those workouts include running up hills, completing running back drills with cones and churning his legs through sand pits.
There are no days off for him.
“I want to be miles and miles above where I was as an athlete last season and learn how to better evaluate opposing defenses,” Trotter said. “I want to be the horse for this offense. You have got to work to earn that, and that’s what I have been doing.”
Without James Gilbert and Jordon Brown ahead of him on the depth chart, he will have an opportunity to take over as K-State’s starting running back next season. Trotter is coming off a promising junior season in which he rushed for 263 yards and three touchdowns on limited touches.
He is eager for a bigger role.
“I want to be more of a threat out of the backfield and in open space,” Trotter said. “One on one, I want to win those every time. The main focus for me is developing more speed and agility. That is what I have been working on the most, just becoming more agile as a running back. I have definitely gotten better this spring. It’s easy for me to stay in a routine right now.”
The Wildcats will be counting on Trotter to become a big factor in their offense next season.
Sure, he will still split carries with other running backs like Tyler Burns, Jacardia Wright and Joe Ervin, but he has more college playing experience than all of them combined. He began his career at Fort Scott Community College, then transferred to Louisville as a walk-on before once again switching schools to K-State and earning a scholarship.
His knowledge could come in handy as the Wildcats look to replace all five offensive linemen next season, and everyone tries to get back into football shape.
“He will be able to handle it,” offensive coordinator Courtney Messingham said. “He is very good about having blinders on and focusing on the task at hand. He has done a good job in continuing to reach out. Obviously, we are in a tough situation right now and he didn’t get to lead during the spring. But he has done a good job of reaching out to his teammates ... I think he is ready for whatever role he gets handed.”
This story was originally published April 16, 2020 at 3:01 PM with the headline "Kansas State running back Harry Trotter isn’t letting quarantine slow him down."