04/24/2008 3:06 PM
 | Rattlers Ticket Hotline: 602-514-TDTD |
By Michael Samtur
In a sport of giant men who seem to defy the laws of physics with their combination of size and speed, it’s very easy to overlook the players who don’t have the prototypical “tools.” Isaiah Trufant, the 5’8” cornerback for the Rattlers, understands all-to-well how difficult it is to succeed in this league. However, he also loves when opposing players underestimate him. We sat down and spoke to Isaiah to get an idea of what keeps him motivated, what he plans to do after football, and which of his brothers is the best football player.
Q: What do you do for fun?
“I like to play a lot of basketball. I make beats on my keyboard too, hip hop beats. If I’m not doing one of those two, I’m usually playing video games.”
Q: What’s your favorite game?
“NBA 2K8, and when Madden ’09 comes out I’ll play that.”
Q: Do you think you want to pursue a career in producing and making records?
“I want to be behind the scenes making the music. I’m not a singer and I’m not really a rapper. I would love to do that. I’m kind of doing that now. In the off-season, I’ll make beats for guys back home, guys who are trying to get started.”
Q: You’re visibly shorter than most of your competition. What’s the biggest disadvantage to being shorter?
“In football, it’s a real contact sport. Being smaller, guys are going to want to beat up on you and use their weight and their height as an advantage. You have to find ways around that. Whether it’s with your speed, your quickness, or getting off blocks, you have to be able to maneuver and use your angles. You have to be in great, in perfect, position to make plays against some of the bigger receivers.”
Q: How do you make up for your lack of height to lead two teams in a row in pass breakups?
“In the offseason, I’m always working hard to keep my strength up. I know I’m a little guy, and I’m not going to be as strong as the bigger guys, but I do all I can to be as strong as I can, keep my quickness up, and stay healthy.”
Q: What are your biggest strengths?
“I think my biggest strengths are my quick reaction speed and my running speed. I have good footwork and I can jump pretty high.”
Q: While the disadvantages of being short are obvious and well-documented, could you explain some of the biggest advantages?
“I’m able to run around guys pretty easily. If there’s a big guy coming after me, it’s pretty hard for him to block me because I can run circles around him. The big guys have a tough time blocking us smaller guys.”
Q: You lead the team in tackles right now too. Do you enjoy the physical part of the game?
“I don’t mind getting down and dirty a little bit. But, being a little guy, I have to be on my ‘A’ game to stay healthy. But I don’t mind getting physical.”
Q: You won an ArenaCup in the af2 with the Spokane Shock. What did you take out of that? Do you think this Rattlers team has what it takes to become champions?
“We have a great coach in Coach Guy and a lot of great assistant coaches. After that, you need great teamwork to go along with great talent so that everyone is working together. You can have all the talent, but have guys who are going out there trying to do their own thing. But we don’t have that on this team. We have a lot of team players on this team who are great athletes and I think we can put it all together to make a nice playoff run and a championship run.”
Q: Your brother Marcus plays in the NFL with the Seattle Seahawks and just signed a new deal to stay in your home state of Washington. What did growing up with him do for you?
“Me personally, that was motivation. I’m very proud of my big brother, he’s accomplished a lot. As a family, we’re all proud of him. I’ve always looked up to him, even more so than professional athletes. Things I saw he can do inspired me to try to do them too. Watching him be successful made me think that I could be successful in my life.”
Q: What did it mean to you and your family that he stayed local?
“It did help, for sure. It made it a little tougher for me in college because I had a bigger spotlight on me with higher expectations. It was good for him because he had a good following in Washington.”
Q: So, is it just a coincidence that you both became cornerbacks or did you just follow in your brother’s footsteps?
“Stature-wise, we’re best suited to play cornerback. We both played running back in high school. One guy I did look up to was Barry Sanders. He was a smaller runner back like me. But, as time went on and guys got bigger and I didn’t, I couldn’t take as many hits. I decided I’d rather DO the hitting. It worked out for me. I may not be in the NFL, but I’m still playing professional football and I’m very grateful for that.”
Q: Did you and Marcus have a healthy sibling rivalry to see who was better?
“Oh yea, always! There were always sibling rivalries going on. We have a little brother too, so he was out there competing with us too. We were always out there on the basketball court or playing pickup football. Yea, there were some good matchups out there. Sometimes he’d get the best of me and sometimes I’d get the best of him.”
Q: Is your little brother going to follow the family tradition and be a cornerback too?
“Yes, he is. He’s a junior in high school now in Washington and he’s being recruited pretty hard by the Pac-10.”
Q: Well, if he’s this good, now that you’re going to be down here in Arizona for awhile, you have to convince him to play in the valley for Arizona State.
“Oh yea, oh yea… I got the inside on that.”
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