INDIANAPOLIS — Genetics steered Maddux Trujillo’s athletic course and has contributed to the opportunity of a lifetime.
While bouncing between soccer and football as a middle schooler in Flowery Branch, Georgia, there came a time he had to figure out where he fit in on the gridiron.
In this instance, size mattered.
“I was a really small kid coming up through school and didn’t hit my growth spurt until late,’’ Trujillo said.
Family and friends offered direction.
“They said, ‘Well, if you’re going to play football, then you’re going to have to kick the football because you’re going to get crushed. And you can kick the ball from soccer,’’’ Trujillo said.
His response?
All right, I’m going to do that.
Fast-forward to this weekend.
Trujillo was part of the Indianapolis Colts’ rookie minicamp, which was the first step toward providing kicking competition for Spencer Shrader. He was one of the team’s 15 undrafted free agents.
While the overriding offseason issue has been the open quarterback battle between Anthony Richardson and Daniel Jones, uncertainty also exists with special teams after the team released incumbent Matt Gay last month.
“Every single day you get to come out here is a blessing,’’ Trujillo said. “It’s a dream come true.’’
Shrader has a leg up, so to speak.
After signing with the Colts as an undrafted free agent out of Notre Dame after the 2024 draft, he saw action with Indy, the New York Jets and Kansas City Chiefs as a rookie. He converted three PATs for the Colts in the season-opening loss to Houston, then was 5-for-5 on field-goal attempts — two with the Jets and three with the Chiefs, including a game-winning 31-yarder as time expired in Kansas City’s 30-27 nod at Carolina in week 12.
“Having Spencer last year gave us a real insight to his talent level,’’ Ballard said. “Then, he leaves us and performs at two different teams. You know how hard that is?’’
Releasing Gay, who had two years remaining on his four-year, $22.5 million contract that made him one of the NFL’s highest-paid kickers, “had more to do with Spencer than it did, really, with Matt,’’ Ballard insisted.
The main reason Gay was released was his unreliability on 50-plus-yard attempts. He was 53-of-56 (94.6%) on attempts of 49 or shorter the past two seasons, including 28-of-28 in 2024, but just 11-of-22 on attempts of at least 50.
After setting an NFL record with four 50-yarders in the Colts’ 22-19 overtime upset of the Ravens in Baltimore in week 3 of 2023, Gay converted just 7-of-18 attempts of at least 50 yards.
Yet Shrader’s small sample size can’t be ignored. While he’s yet to miss in the regular season, his longest has been a 45-yarder for the Jets. However, Shrader’s leg strength was obvious during his rookie camp with the Colts, and he knocked down a 56-yarder in the preseason against Cincinnati.
The Colts always were going to bring in competition for Shrader, and Trujillo’s potential was impossible to ignore.
Special teams coordinator Brian Mason compared Trujillo’s resume to Shrader’s. He recruited Shrader from South Florida to Notre Dame, but accepted the Colts’ position before he could work with Shrader in South Bend.
Shrader was a lackluster 43-of-63 (68.3%) in college, including 15-of-22 with Notre Dame, but tied an Irish single-season record with four successful 50-plus yarders.
Trujillo converted 72% of his attempts for Temple and Austin Peay (54-of-75) but put himself on the NFL radar last season with the Owls. He set a school record with a 64-yarder against Utah State, which is the longest kick at Lincoln Financial Field, home of the Philadelphia Eagles, and became just the third player in NCAA history with at least two 60-yarders in a season when he converted a 60-yard attempt against UConn. He also nailed 54 and 50-yard attempts.
Trujillo admitted his long-distance success at Temple “put me on the map a little bit.’’
His leg strength is a byproduct of focusing on the proper kicking techniques before his growth spurt.
“I was a small kid. I didn’t develop until later,’’ Trujillo reiterated. “I had to be fundamentally sound.
“When I grew into my body, the strength just came along with it.’’
During the post-draft scurry to sign rookie free agents, Mason kept stressing Trujillo’s potential.
“He thinks the kid’s got a high ceiling and a lot to work with,’’ assistant general manager Ed Dodds said. “He was fired up about him from the start because I was hitting his agent pretty hard and hoping we got a shot at getting him after the draft, and we did.’’
Mason isn’t preoccupied with the lack of efficiency Shrader and Trujillo displayed in college. He pointed to Kansas City’s Harrison Butker, who was a 71.7% kicker at Georgia Tech but has knocked down 89.1% of his attempts for the Chiefs, including 30-of-45 (66.7%) on 50-plus attempts.
“We’re looking for somebody that No. 1 is going to have a really special leg or leg talent, so leg strength,’’ Mason said. “So, what’s their trajectory they’re getting on their kicks? What’s their ability to make 50-plus-yard field goals?
“The next step is do they have the mental makeup to be able to handle the pressure of being an NFL starting kicker?’’
Trujillo believes he possesses the traits Mason and the Colts are demanding.
“I like being in pressure moments,’’ he said. “I feel like I’ve always done better when the pressure of the moment is high and being a kicker, you can’t really be under more pressure than that.
“I’ve always loved that.’’
You can follow Mike Chappell on Twitter at @mchappell51.