Former starting quarterback Barrett Trotter left graduate school after finishing just one semester.
Now he is training for the NFL Draft, working out with Canadian Football League teams and preparing for a future in football.
"January 19 was the last day to enter the draft this year, and I think I was the last person as a junior to declare I wanted to be in the draft," Trotter said. "I knew I wasn't going to be at Auburn playing football, and I had planned on just staying in school and finishing out the next year, and then I just decided to enter the draft.
"A week later I talked with my agent and he suggested I go somewhere to train."
Trotter's high school coach, Fred Yancey of Briarwood Christian School, said Trotter will be prepared no matter where he goes.
"We talked quite often about what was going on with his recruitment and all that," Yancey said. "He's one of these guys that was a great high school quarterback, and I knew no matter where he went he would be a great player."
Yancey coached Trotter during his 14-1 senior season and said despite Trotter's ups and downs at Auburn, he is a great player.
"There is absolutely nothing wrong with Barrett Trotter's game as a quarterback," Yancey said. "He can make every throw, he's plenty mobile, especially for the pro-style (offense). It wont surprise me if he does very well. I think Barrett's got a great opportunity to show folks that he's very, very capable."
After Trotter's last game versus Virginia in the Chick-fil-A Bowl, his former coach Gene Chizik admired his performance coming in relief of injured starter Clint Moseley, who replaced Trotter in the seventh game of the 2011 season.
"I couldn't be more proud of a young guy than I am of Barrett Trotter in so many ways off the field," Chizik said. "The way that he handled everything in the middle of the season and what a fitting end to his season--he finished it the way he started it."
Trotter has been working out for several CFL teams, including Calgary, Toronto and Edmonton.
"If thats where I get to go play, you're making good money and still playing football and having fun," Trotter said. "I think it'd be a cool opportunity and right now I'm not shutting down any potential options. Any time I can get out there and get in front of some people and throw the ball and run, hopefully it will help me get a job in the future."
Trotter is now spending his time in Nashville training and waiting for the NFL Draft. He said if he had not submitted to the draft he would have continued his education at Auburn, adding that his experiences under center are something he wouldn't trade for anything.
"At the beginning of the season I was definitely really excited for the potential of getting to start and all the things I'd been working for," Trotter said. "There were definitely a lot of ups and downs in the season. I wouldn't trade it for anything, but you look back and you wish there were certain things that would have gone a different way.
"In the end you have to walk away and be happy the way things turned out, and I definitely am."
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