Clemson Football: Jeremiah Trotter Jr. declares for NFL Draft, will opt out of Tigers’ bowl game

Jeremiah Trotter has announced that he will forgo his senior season and declare for the 2024 NFL Draft.

Trotter just completed his third season with the Tigers. He has been considered a likely candidate to leave early to start a pro career.

Trotter is from Philadelphia, Pennsylvania. He played high school football at St. Joseph’s Preparatory School. He was a 4-star prospect and rated 44th nationally by 247Sports in the Class of 2021.

Trotter’s father, Jeremiah Trotter Sr., played twelve seasons as a linebacker in the NFL for Philadelphia, Washington, and Tampa Bay. He played college football at Stephen F. Austin.

Ian Cummings of Pro Football Network considers Trotter to be one of the most pro-ready prospects at linebacker this season.

“If there’s any 2024 NFL Draft LB prospect who was absolutely built to play LB at the NFL level, it’s Jeremiah Trotter Jr.”

Cummings considers Trotter to be a Top-20 prospect on his draft board.

“Trotter entered the 2023 season as one of the best traditional LB prospects in the 2024 NFL Draft. He has the necessary explosiveness, agility, and play strength, but the most impressive qualities on tape were his football intelligence, block deconstruction, evasion ability, and his instincts in close quarters.”

Jeremiah Trotter Jr.’s father has confirmed his son will opt out of the bowl game for Clemson Football

Trotter Sr. has confirmed that his son will opt out of Clemson’s bowl game.

This is unfortunate that the Tigers will not have Trotter on the field this postseason, but there is always a silver lining. This will give Wade Woodaz a chance to continue to develop. Woodaz is the most logical candidate to step into the starting line-up right now, though 5-star prospect Sammy Brown will be available in 2024 as well.

The Tigers will now await word from Barrett Carter if he will leave early for the NFL or remain with Clemson for the 2024 season. Like Trotter, Carter has been considered a candidate to start his pro career early.

I will miss Jeremiah’s axe swinging. It has been a joy to watch him the past few years. I also appreciate that he got this business out of the way early so the team understands well ahead of time how to strategize for their bowl game.