Trotter speaks on why he didn't stay

[oscarsdriver 7]

http://www.al.com/sports/index.ssf/2012/04/former_au_qb_barrett_trotter_i.html

I hate to say this because I've always had a high opinion of BT, but he sounds a little bitter about last year. Of course I don't think anyone would enjoy being benched. I'm sure he probably saw the writing (KF) on the wall, but it was an interesting read... Just thought I'd share and see what the opinion makers thought 

[AUFriction 1,179]

I didn't really think he sounded bitter.

It seemed to me that he just didn't want to waste a year sitting on the bench and he wasn't sure he could secure the starting position.

[dpwspringer 0]

I didn't really think he sounded bitter.

It seemed to me that he just didn't want to waste a year sitting on the bench and he wasn't sure he could secure the starting position.

I read it as he thought that ship had sailed.  He left on a high note being the qb coming off the bench to lead the team to victory in the bowl game.  Plus he was worn on school work after finishing up his bachelor and master degree.

[AU64 10,122]

BT rose to the occasion in the Va game and went out a winner.  He could see the handwriting on the wall and no point in riding the bench waiting on someone to get hurt.    He's a first class guy and unfortunately, the article did not reveal much about his character.

JMO, I think the writer was looking for some "inside" on the Auburn situation, the trial, MD....you know, the juicy stuff......and got nothing.

[oscarsdriver 7]

I can definitely see that, now that you point it out. It has seemed that every reporter under the sun is trying to get someone to comment on all of the former players. I don't know enough about BTs character to judge one way or the other, but I hope he doesn't have any bad feelings after leaving because I always enjoyed watching him compete

[HardcoreAU79 0]

In my opinion, BT handled the questions  and represented his school well.

The writer's bias or at least slightly caustic wording was  deflected in a matter of fact way. 

Well done and WDE.

[hunter021003 0]

After reading the first few questions i couldn't read the rest. in the first three questions his answers sounded like a spoiled brat. why did the coaches not give him another chance? Did he work like he was suppose to? He quite when it got tough. I had high hopes for him, but he quite. i always thought he would be a good qb behind a good line, but he quite. i wish him the best, but if he always runs from adversity i don't see him being successful

[Iron_chin_chiz 0]

Trotter is a class act and true Auburn man. He came in the Chick fila Bowl and played like a stud, I will always remember him for that last performance. That bomb he threw down field was beautiful. This article doesn't do him justice.

[AU64 10,122]

After reading the first few questions i couldn't read the rest. in the first three questions his answers sounded like a spoiled brat. why did the coaches not give him another chance? Did he work like he was suppose to? He quite when it got tough. I had high hopes for him, but he quite. i always thought he would be a good qb behind a good line, but he quite. i wish him the best, but if he always runs from adversity i don't see him being successful

Couldn't disagree more.  You have no clue about his character and his drive.  He worked four years and suffered a serious knee injury that killed his chances of being a multi-season starter. 

  Take your crap somewhere else.

[gAUlf 1]

After reading the first few questions i couldn't read the rest. in the first three questions his answers sounded like a spoiled brat. why did the coaches not give him another chance? Did he work like he was suppose to? He quite when it got tough. I had high hopes for him, but he quite. i always thought he would be a good qb behind a good line, but he quite. i wish him the best, but if he always runs from adversity i don't see him being successful

Couldn't disagree more.   You have no clue about his character and his drive.  He worked four years and suffered a serious knee injury that killed his chances of being a multi-season starter. 

   Take your crap somewhere else.

He might. Do you? I kept my mouth shut the whole time Trotter was at Auburn, but he's not the golden boy some want to make him out to be.

[AU64 10,122]

Three times he said he "quite"...which presume means he quit.  Whether you kept your mouth shut or not, surely you know that was not true.  The coaches let him be the team spox for a good part of his last season and I don't think Chiz would put him out as the starting QB at the beginning of the season if there were concerns about his commitment or leadership.   

He bailed an AU team out in the bowl game at a time when it looked like UVa was going to beat us.  He came in cold and took over the game at QB.  I accept that all I know about him is what I read, but what I read bears no resemblence to the negative stuff posted above.

[gAUlf 1]

Three times he said he "quite"...which presume means he quit.   Whether you kept your mouth shut or not, surely you know that was not true.  The coaches let him be the team spox for a good part of his last season and I don't think Chiz would put him out as the starting QB at the beginning of the season if there were concerns about his commitment or leadership.   

He bailed an AU team out in the bowl game at a time when it looked like UVa was going to beat us.  He came in cold and took over the game at QB.   I accept that all I know about him is what I read, but what I read bears no resemblence to the negative stuff posted above.

Yea it was a little harsh to say he "quite" (quit). I'll just leave it alone. Trotter has moved on for whatever reason and we are moving on. 

[JDUBB4AU 5,138]

No need to pile on Trotter, his interview said it all..We all saw the reason he got benched.Honestly he sounded bitter to me..But I.don't really care because he's not at Auburn anymore.

[TigerPaw1 0]

Honestly did people think he would be all lovey dovey? I mean he was benched in the middle of the year for a guy who didn't do much more than him. I understand why he got benched and agree with it but I also know if I was Barrett I would be a little irritated as well. Plus considering how those questions were basically guiding him to be a jerk about auburn I think he did a good job handling them. He is good kid no matter what others say. I am not sure gAUlf what issues u had with him but I have multiple friends who know/knew barrett and all consider him a good guy that loves Auburn. He gave us his all for 4 years but it was best for him and probably auburn for him to move on

[tigerchris 243]

He is a grown man!  He can do and say whatever he wants.  WAR EAGLE BT.  Thank you for everything you did while at AU and WE wish you luck in the future.

[ronniebrownfan 1]

I don't have a problem with Trotter's words, but I do have a problem with the writer's.  It wouldn't surprise me to discover that BT didn't really say some of the things attributed to him.  Sounds like the guy was on a fishing expedition trying to find something to embarrass AU with.  Why else would he be interviewing a player who passed up his last year of elgibility and who was not well known with most people outside of Auburn?

[FHeal 4]

Barrett didn't mince any words, was matter of fact, and stood up for himself.  And despite being given every opportunity, he said nothing bad about anyone... not the coaches, other players, or his school...  sounds a lot like Man-Talk to me.  (Good for him)

I don't really see where this should evoke such bitter response.

[bwillaub 0]

What starting QB/player for any team wouldn't be a little bitter?  BT is a class act and I'll always appreciate the effort he gave on and off the field.  Considering the situation, he had nothing to gain by coming back.

WAR EAGLE, BT!!

[rockfordpi 91]

After reading the first few questions i couldn't read the rest. in the first three questions his answers sounded like a spoiled brat. why did the coaches not give him another chance? Did he work like he was suppose to? He quite when it got tough. I had high hopes for him, but he quite. i always thought he would be a good qb behind a good line, but he quite. i wish him the best, but if he always runs from adversity i don't see him being successful

RUNS FROM ADVERSITY? The man has GRADUATED FROM COLLEGE (the reason I am told players go to AU) and he said he did not enjoy grad school. In spite of what our UAT friends say, playing football at AU is not a well paying job for a college graduate.

He gave the college what he agreed to give them, he did not owe anyone anything else, especially not another year of his life sweating, bleeding, and working for room and board. While AU football may be some fans whole life, most of those fans are out posting on the Internet, not getting up a daylight to work out all year, running, getting your body pounded by and risking injury from 300 lb linemen, and all the other grueling things that people criticizing him on the Internet do not have to face.

I doubt he will ever have a pro career, even if he had stayed at AU another year. It was time for him to move on to another phase of his life. I appreciate all he has done for us and respect him for what he is doing.

[Stripe 5]

He's a bit salty about being benched. Who wouldn't be? But I think he answered the questions very well. You can tell by his responses to the latter questions that he still loves Auburn. He has always been an upstanding young man and I look for him to continue to be.

I wouldn't say he quit. That’s definitely not what I saw on the field. I don't know what his attitude was during practice the rest of the year. But I honestly can't blame the coaches for benching him. I may have done it a few games before. Having said that, there would have been games where I would have brought him back in to see if the change could provide the spark that we got when CM came in to replace BT. It obviously worked during the chicken bowl.

Our QB's all struggled last year mostly due to offensive line play. But sometimes you just need to make a change and hope it creates a spark in your team. It also makes sure that the guys are working each week to better themselves regardless of starting position. The possibility keeps them on their game knowing that they could be replaced at any given moment if they fail to produce.

[BPI 0]

Graduated from grad school no less....He did all he felt he could do at Auburn. Plus, it seems to me that he felt bad about getting yanked mid season. Who could blame him ? He was our best quarterback last year. Can't blame the coaches though....They had to try something .....

[Stripe 5]

One other thing, Quit jumping on the guy because his opinion differs from yours. It is a message board. your opinion is no more valuable or correct than his. I see the guy’s point of view. I also see yours. Learn how to have a discussion and stop jumping on people when their opinion doesn’t paint that perfect sunshine pump that you want all the time. Learn how to have a discussion and quit blasting each other. 

I’ve said it before and I’ll say it again. It’s like a bad sewing circle here some times.

[auriptide 0]

No need to pile on Trotter, his interview said it all..We all saw the reason he got benched.Honestly he sounded bitter to me..But I.don't really care because he's not at Auburn anymore.

Yes, he did sound a little hurt, but that's human nature and time will heal it I hope.

[Rednilla 5,404]

Bitter? Whining? I didn't get any of that. Look, I said last year that Clint was probably so upset at losing the starting job because he knew last season was really his only shot. Barrett knew that too. Now it's Kiehl's time. Barrett graduated early and wasn't enjoying grad school, so rather than sit on the bench all year this year, he decided to move on with his life. I actually think he's got a pretty good shot to do well in the CFL. We still need Clint because we need a veteran backup, and he's a good enough player that he can win games for us, but everyone who has been paying attention has noticed the disparity between Frazier and everyone else in the QB race.

And you know, maybe Trotter is a little bitter. Is it really so hard to blame him? He busted his tail for three years as a back up, started for 7 games, went 5-2, and got benched. Let us not forget that he was very much in the race to start as a freshman, too, until he got hurt. AUSportTalk told me one time (can't rememver if it was on here or in person at a game) that if he hadn't gotten hurt, he WOULD have been the starter.

So he gets hurt, watches us struggle down the stretch with a QB whose arm and mobility were nowhere near as good as his own...and then the next year he gets to sit on the bench behind the best player in college football history. Gets his shot, has poor offensive line play, gets pulled midseason, then makes a triumphant return to lead us to a thrashing of UVA in the Chik-Fil-A. He knows how good Frazier is because he's seen him in practice, and he knows that Clint took the starting job away from him once already. Kinda makes sense to go out on top, doesn't it?

However, I didn't pick up even a hint of bitterness in his words. The "journalist" talking to him was doing everything he could to get it to come out, and Trotter was haing none of it.

[telling tiger 156]

Agreed, Red.

Of course BT has feelings and opinions about his last year and the way it played out. It would be called human. Of course the so-called journalist gave every opportunity for him to vent. It is what passes for journalism these days. If people refused to buy into it, there would be less of it. If people didn't buy the National Enquirer, there wouldn't be one.

This article is the non-event of its day.