When Adam Trautman was being recruited, he was a big-bodied quarterback who broke passing records at Elk Rapids High School in Michigan. Because of his high school's small size, his recruiting interest was minimal with offers coming from Dayton, Cornell and Harvard. It's the type of high school where guys play both ways, and Trautman played a little cornerback as well.
The point person helping Trautman with his recruiting talked with a Big Ten school that showed some interest. With his size (6-foot-5) and athleticism, he mentioned Trautman as a potential tight end in college. That was shot down by the Big Ten school with the reason being he never played that position in high school.
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Fast forward five years later, and Trautman is one of the top, if not the top pro prospect at tight end in the 2020 NFL Draft.
Trautman decided to play his college ball at Dayton, who is in the non-scholarship Pioneer Football League in the FCS. He's another prime example of an overlooked recruit that developed in the subdivision formerly known as Division I-AA. He's yet another "how did we miss this guy?" player that FBS programs wonder about at this time of the year.
While he was recruited as a quarterback, Trautman converted to tight end within 10 days of being on campus and played there while on the scout team during his redshirt year.
He hit the field in 2016, hauling in 24 passes for 238 yards and three touchdowns. That grew to 43 catches for 537 yards and five TDs the next year. As a junior in 2018, Trautman had 41 receptions for 604 yards and 9 TDs. And as a senior, he caught 70 passes for 916 yards and 14 TDs while being named a HERO Sports First Team All-American.
“After my redshirt sophomore year was when it hit me," Trautman told HERO Sports on when he realized the next level was realistic. "I was getting to the mold size of a tight end. I was up to 250 pounds, was getting used to the position and was a huge part of the offense. The OC sat me down and said, ‘hey man, you can do this. I’m going to give you everything you need to go do it, but you have to put the work in.’ That’s something I’ve always prided myself on, is putting the work in. I couldn’t get to this point without putting the work in.”
NFL scouts took notice as Trautman began a meteoric rise on draft boards. He got an invite to the Senior Bowl back in January and is heading to the NFL Combine next week. The Athletic's Dane Brugler currently ranks him the No. 1 tight end. Josh Buchanan of Draft Scout has Trautman projected as a second or third-round draft pick.
“I’ve never let success get to me and change the way I work," Trautman, who is training in Irvine, California with his agency Rep1 Sports. "I know what got me here. If you were to talk to my teammates, they’d say nothing has ever changed the way I worked or prepared. It’s not really affecting me. Did I ever think I’d get to this point where people are saying I could be the first tight end taking off the board or the second? No. But I think I’ve trained for this to become a reality.”
FCS guys always face the "level of competition" question during the draft process. It's nothing new for Trautman, who faced it when being recruited. But that question is amplified because of the perception of the Pioneer Football League. Outsiders see the "non-scholarship" tag and can't look past it. The reality is the PFL has had great success in recent years of sending players to the NFL.
Marist defensive lineman Terrence Fede was selected in the seventh round in 2014. Drake tight end Eric Saubert and San Diego defensive back Jamal Agnew were each selected in the fifth round of the 2017 NFL Draft.
Trautman will be the next for the Pioneer and will be the first NFL Draft pick from Dayton since 1977.
“For me, it validates the level of football that we play in the conference," Trautman said. "Everyone looks at it as the wort conference in the FCS because we don’t offer scholarships. But the past few years, San Diego and us as well … we’ve gone into games against scholarship schools and we win. For our programs, you get guys that aren’t developed. In other programs, the guys are ready to go and play right away. In the Pioneer, the teams take them under their wing and develop them. And once they get older, these teams are good. You have to love football to play in this conference. I never will regret a thing about where I went to school or what conference I played in. It made me who I am and gave me that self-starter attitude.”
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