Locker room celebration leads to commitment from son of NFL star

Trotter works out at Dabo Swinney's camp in June.

by David Hood - Senior Writer - Mon Sep 09 08:48:56 GMT-04:00 2019

Dabo Swinney’s locker room celebrations are the stuff of legend, and one recruit on hand for Saturday’s win over Texas A&M loved Saturday’s postgame so much he committed on the spot.

Jeremiah Trotter, a 2021 linebacker out of Philadelphia (PA) St. Joseph’s is the son of former NFL star linebacker Jeremiah Trotter, who spent most of his career with the Eagles and is in that team’s hall of fame.

The two were down for the A&M game, and Trotter Jr. was so caught up with what he experienced after the game, he decided to pull defensive coordinator and linebackers coach Brent Venables aside and make his commitment, much to his own surprise.

“I didn’t really expect to,” Trotter said. “Everything factored into it and I felt like this is the place for me. When I heard coach Swinney talk in the locker room, and seeing him talk to his guys and the way he celebrated with them after the win, and seeing how all the guys treated him, it was more like he was a real nice guy, real genuine. Just hearing him talk and the message that he was giving to the guys, I really liked. It was like a lot of the same stuff I hear at my high school. It just really felt good to hear that, hear what they were thinking.”

The Trotters also witnessed a strong defensive effort keyed by an excellent game plan drawn up by Venables. That, too, played a role in the decision to commit on the spot.

“The defense is playing with very high tempo and energy and making a lot of stops. That was really good to see,” Trotter said.

A middle man in putting the Trotters and Clemson together was former Tiger linebacker Keith Adams, a former teammate of Trotter’s with the Eagles.

“He really helped with getting my name out there to the coaches so they could just watch our film at least,” Trotter said. “Also, just giving us a point of view of this is real, this is actually how everybody is. He had a lot of good things to say about the coaches and my dad felt the same way, that what he was saying was true.”

Trotter also holds offers from South Carolina, Tennessee, Georgia Tech, Miami, Florida State, Wisconsin, Arizona State, Pitt, Nebraska, Rutgers, Virginia Tech, Oklahoma State, Baylor and others.

According to a story in the Philadelphia Inquirer, Trotter and his younger brother, Josiah, have trained with their dad, and Jeremiah added 30 pounds to his frame between his freshman and sophomore years.

Trotter was the second commitment of Saturday for Clemson and he gives the Tigers three pledges for their 2021 class.

I’d like to thank all the coaches and teams that have given me the opportunity to play college football for them. Although I am very excited and blessed to say I am 110% committed to the University of Clemson!#goTigers?? @ClemsonFB pic.twitter.com/PVB3Okj4dR
— Jeremiah Trotter Jr. (@JeremiahTrotte2) September 8, 2019