COLD SPRING, Minn. — Andrew Trout, a senior offensive tackle at ROCORI High School and recruit for the University of Minnesota Golden Gophers football program, is aiming to stay healthy during his final season with the Spartans after multiple injuries in his junior year.
Standing at six feet seven inches and weighing 300 pounds, Trout suffered two breaks of the fifth metatarsal in his left foot during the previous year, causing him to miss most of the season. After having a second surgery and months spent recovering in a boot and on a scooter, he says he is ready for action this fall.
“I was feeling great, then I broke it again during winter training. It was unfortunate. I had my second surgery and I’m all healed up now,” Trout said at a recent practice. “I feel like I’m fully recovered.” He detailed his rehabilitation process: “The progression in the recovery has felt better this time (…) I had a carbon-fiber plate in my left cleat for a little bit, but I took that out. I feel like the foot is healed and I didn’t need it anymore. I didn’t have a lot of downtime this summer. I spent a lot of time studying our playbook. The trainers told me what I could do and what I couldn’t do.”
“My body feels great. I’m in the best shape of my life right now and I’m ready to go,” Trout added.
Teammates and coaches stress Trout’s importance to ROCORI’s offensive line as they approach their opening game against Totino-Grace. Senior quarterback Max Fredin said, “It’s pretty fun knowing when he’s in the lineup (…) I never have to look over my shoulder a whole lot. We missed him last year. We had other guys step in like Gavin Reinhart to get the job done with him out. Now Gavin can go to right tackle spot this year. Andy’s our leader out there (…) If he stays healthy, we should be really good.”
New head coach Greg Enz commented on Trout’s gradual return: “We brought him back slowly all summer. That allowed others to get some work in — and that’s a great thing too (…) We don’t want to lose him obviously. But we also have to have a backup plan in case something happens. We feel like we have enough depth to be ready for that (…) We know Andrew’s a big leader for us and we’re going to do everything we can to keep him on the field.”
Wide receiver Caleb Maddox also spoke about Trout’s role: “When Andy is out there, we have more energy (…) That’s why he’s so important to us. He brings up team morale just by having his big presence out there. He adds so much to what we can do offensively. When Andy’s out there — we’re always pumped up.”
In January, Trout represented Minnesota at the Nike Next Ones Elite Invite during Super Bowl week in New Orleans as selected by the Minnesota Vikings organization. There he met Pro Football Hall of Fame Enshrinee John Randle at the Vikings’ facility in Eagan.
“NIKE paid for the trip — it was sick. It was more of a brand-rep thing, but I got some free Nike stuff that I got to wear around all week,” Trout said with laughter before describing his meeting with Randle: “It was a surprise (…) I had no idea he’d be there. When he came around the corner, I thought ‘holy crap — that’s John Randle.’ I talked to him for a while and he gave me some great advice.”
Trout expects to enroll at Minnesota early next year but says his focus remains on helping ROCORI succeed this fall.
“When I committed, it was great to get that off my plate (…) I didn’t have to worry about it anymore. I basically knew where I wanted to go play the entire time. When I got the offer, it was easy to say yes. My focus is on ROCORI football right now to see how far we can go this fall,” said Trout.
As for adding weight or further preparation before joining college football workouts next January: “I’ll let the trainers and coaches at Minnesota advise me on what to do in January (…) They will tell me where I need to be at (…) Right now, I’m healthy. That’s the biggest thing for me right now.”
