NORFOLK, VA (WTKR) — It was the moment Tayshawn Trotman had waited for.
As the high school football season kicked off in August, the sophomore defensive lineman told he'd dress every Friday with the Western Branch varsity roster.
"I was hyped for myself, with all the hard work I put in the offseason to make it to varsity," he said.
That call up, however, also started a unique family journey for Tayshawn and his older brothers, senior wide receiver Steven and senior quarterback Taquan.
"Since we were five and six, we were going to the backyard and playing tackle football and it's gone up from there," Steven remembered.
"We always had a bond," Taquan said.
"They used to bully me," Tayshawn said. "Always tackling me hard and I had to get back up."
Through the years of backyard games, though, the three had never played together on the same team in school. That changed once Tayshawn started suiting up for the Bruins varsity team.
"We sat down and talked a couple times," Taquan said. "'We got one year together, let's make it count.'"
"When I think about it, I'm like, 'I'm really on the same team as my two younger brothers.' It's kind of wild," Steven said.
The three have found a balance between competing and pushing each other, but also enjoying the year they have together.
"I'm a quarterback, my brothers are a defensive back and a defensive lineman, so they push me in practice to give me a sack or pick me off," Taquan said
"The bond, the way we play football, the heart we got in football," Tayshawn said. "I look up to those guys."
When Western Branch takes the field Thursday against Franklin County in the Region 6A playoffs, the Trotmans know they could be extending their moments on the gridiron together or playing their last snaps with each other.
They'll cherish either scenario, finding pride in their uniting for one season.
"This is really amazing that we're all on a good team, a winning team," Steven said.
"It's a special moment," Tayshawn said. "A Trotman to Trotman connection."
