2006 Class: Johnnie Troutman

When Johnnie Troutman entered the 9th grade at Pemberton High School (N.J.), he was already 6-4, 225-pounds and was able to play defensive end on the varsity football team as a freshman. In fact, he has been a starter for head coach John Rosnick since that year. Troutman has continued to grow physically and has developed into one of the top prospects in the state of New Jersey for the 2006 class.

“He’s 6-5, between 265 and 270 pounds,” Rosnick said. “He runs like a 4.9 40, so he runs and moves pretty well for a man as big as he is. He’s still not 17 years old yet. He’ll end up being a 4-year starter, so he started his freshman year at defensive end. He has the speed, the quickness, the strength and the power.”

Weight lifting has really helped Troutman over the past year. He only began lifting about six months before the beginning of his junior year, but he has gotten a lot stronger in just a short period of time.

“Just last year he put on about 15 pounds of muscle,” Rosnick said. “Once he started lifting, he went probably in the first 6 months he started benching just under 200 and, before the start of last season, benched 335 pounds.”

...