As Gunnar Trout heads to FAMU, kicker cousin Marcus Trout to fill his void at Cocoa High
It’s one of the most under-appreciated but incredibly important positions on a football team: kicker.
How many times does a game come down to a field goal?
Yet, more time and effort are put into just about every other position on the field.
However, one family knows the importance of being a kicker: the Trout family.
Nate Trout was a kicker at Merritt Island High School who graduated in 1995 and went on to kick at Syracuse.
Nate’s nephew, Gunnar, was the kicker on the 2023 Cocoa High state championship team. And Nate’s son, Marcus, will be a senior. He just transferred to Cocoa from Holy Trinity Episcopal.
“I loved Holy Trinity and owe coach (Hurlie) Brown a lot for the time he invested in me on and off the field. However, it just made sense to move to Cocoa for my senior year based on me being zoned for it, Gunnar’s experience this past year and the ability to compete on a national scale with some of the best coaches and players in the country.”
Trout cousins go their own ways
Marcus and Gunnar both were kickers on Nate’s alma mater, Merritt Island High, in 2022.
Of course, it’s hard when you have two immensely talented kickers, so they decided to go their own separate ways.
Gunnar joined Cocoa prior to the 2023 season for his senior year. When all was said and done, he finished second on the team in points with 98, with only receiver Jayvan Boggs outscoring him (138 points).
Gunnar had 65 extra points and 11 field goals. Both ranked second in the state.
Meanwhile, Marcus followed Brown, who also left Merritt Island and eventually landed at Holy Trinity, for his junior season of 2023.
Holy Trinity’s offense wasn’t quite as potent as Cocoa’s, but Marcus still finished with 37 extra points, four field goals and 35 touchbacks on kickoffs.
What’s next for both?
With Gunnar graduating in May, he’s ready to head off to FAMU in Tallahassee to kick in college.
“I am excited to go in and compete at the college level,” Gunnar said. “It’s been a goal of mine for a long time. FAMU will give me a great opportunity to earn some playing time as well as the ability to earn a degree from a great engineering school.”
As for Marcus, he’ll be playing one of the toughest schedules in the state with his Cocoa teammates in 2024.
Cocoa travels to Daytona Beach Mainland, IMG Academy, Venice and Apopka, among others.
It’s a wrecking crew of the state’s best, but Cocoa will be up to the challenge.
Marcus is being heavily recruited, and being a part of the back-to-back state champion Tigers will help him get even more notice.
“My dream has always been to play college football,” Marcus said. “I have about six schools that have told me I am one of their top guys. We will see how it all plays out. I just have to focus on getting better every day and get ready for my senior year. Everything else will take care of itself.”
Kicking comes natural for the family
During his senior season in 1994-95, Nate Trout and the Merritt Island Mustangs football team made it all the way to the state semifinals, where they lost to Ocala Vanguard, led by Daunte Culpepper.
Nate went on to play at Syracuse University, where his teammate for four years was none other than Donovan McNabb.
With a prolific quarterback leading a potent offense, Nate had plenty of opportunities to score.
When he graduated Syracuse, he was the leading scorer in school history. That record was only broken in the past few years. He also was team captain his senior year in 1999, the first kicker in school history to achieve that honor.
Nate, who has two children, including daughter Kyleigh and Marcus, passed on his proficiency for kicking to his kids.
Kyleigh was a soccer star at Merritt Island. And now there’s Marcus.
“Naturally, I am proud of both kids,” Nate said. “They both have been great in their own way. In the end, like most parents, I just want them to get an education and become successful adults in whatever they want to do. They both are on that track.”
The future is bright
Aside from his proficiency on the gridiron, Nate also was a top-notch soccer player.
He’s coached at the youth and high school levels for many years.
He was the head coach for Merritt Island’s girls soccer team from 2019-22, and he was a director of coaching for Central Brevard Soccer from 2018-23.
In recent years, he’s stepped aside from coaching to help his son chase his dream.
“I will continue to push him to pay attention to the small details and be as mentally tough of a kicker as possible,” Nate said. “Kicking is unforgiving at times, and you can go from the penthouse to the outhouse really quick. Experiencing both sides of that made me who I am, and I hope he gets that opportunity as well through this process.”
While getting into college is a big focus for Marcus, he’s more focused than ever on helping Cocoa win a third straight football title. It’s a feat they accomplished from 2008-10.
There’s little doubt the Tigers will make it to the postseason despite one of the toughest schedules in the state.
Once there, Marcus can make one dream come true — a state title — before making his next dream come true — playing football in college.
“I’m excited for the opportunity to be a part of the Cocoa tradition, be a leader from my position and help us reach our team goals,” Marcus said. “The coaching staff and teammates have been awesome, and I am looking forward to the season with them. After that, I hope I am in a position to play on Saturdays, but first things first.”
Remaining spring football schedule
May 23: Deltona at Astronaut, 6 ... Merritt Island intrasquad scrimmage, 6 ... Rockledge intrasquad scrimmage
May 24: MCC, John Carroll at Melbourne jamboree, 6 ... Bayside, Pt. Orange Atlantic at Centennial jamboree, 7 ... Father Lopez at Space Coast, 7
No spring game: Cocoa, Eau Gallie
This article originally appeared on Florida Today: Cousins Marcus, Gunnar Trout follow in footsteps of kicker dad, uncle
