Clemson football: Five defensive players who could have breakout seasons

Jeremiah Trotter

I have a question for all of you Clemson fans who have traditionally watched the NFL too: Isn’t it still really cool to say Jeremiah Trotter plays for Clemson?

You probably don’t understand that sentiment if you haven’t watched much NFL over the past twenty years because you didn’t see his dad, Jeremiah Trotter Sr., wreak havoc with the Philadelphia Eagles. I wasn’t an Eagles fan, but I knew the pedigree Trotter Jr. had, so I was super excited when he committed to Clemson. As my friends who are Eagle friends will tell you, I didn’t hesitate to let everyone know he was going to be a Tiger.

Just like Carter, Trotter faced a good amount of depth ahead of him in 2021. Alongside Simpson, Clemson had two of the most experienced linebackers in the country in James Skalski and Baylon Spector.

Just like Carter, Trotter was just too good to keep off the field last season. He saw 59 snaps across 13 games and had a total of 22 tackles. Do the math: Trotter made a tackle on 1 out of every 3 snaps when he was on the field in 2021.

We didn’t have a lot of clarity on exactly where Trotter would fit into the mix this season, but a lot of insiders tried to warn us that Goodwin would find a way to get Trotter on the field. It’s beginning to sound like Trotter will be playing in the middle at MIKE, which is a position that classically carries the responsibility to be an on-the-field leader.

It’s rare that observers are more excited about a linebacker group replacing two long-standing starters than they were the season before. Guys like Trotter and Carter are the reason some think the 2022 linebackers will be even better than in 2021.