Trotter Continuing Impressive Family Legacy With Mountaineers
August 09, 2024 03:11 PM | Football, Blog
Share:
By: John Antonik
MORGANTOWN, W.Va. – When your last name is Trotter, destiny dictates that football is going to be a big part of your future.
Still, four-time former All-Pro linebacker Jeremiah Trotter wasn't taking any chances with his two sons, Jeremiah Jr. and Josiah. Whether it was out in the backyard or clearing out the furniture in the living room, he made sure his two little boys were running into each other on a regular basis.
If you are a follower of the Philadelphia Eagles, you already know that Jeremiah Trotter was one of the dudes on those stout Philly defenses in the early 2000s. He made such an impression on that organization that the Eagles brought him back two different times, once after he signed a free agent deal with Washington, and then again after he was released by Tampa Bay.
He played 12 NFL seasons and joins the ranks of Philadelphia linebacker greats Chuck Bednarik, Maxie Baughan and Bill Bergey to earn four Pro Bowl invitations.
And like Bednarik, known in his playing days as "Concrete Charlie" for his toughness, Jeremiah Trotter will forever live in Eagles lore for getting into a fight with Atlanta Falcons cornerback Kevin Mathis and getting thrown out of a game – 40 minutes before kickoff!
Broadcaster Terry Bradshaw quipped afterward, "No one's been thrown out of a house that fast since my last divorce!"
Trotter's pregame fight with Mathis even caused a rule change that prohibited non-kickers from entering a neutral zone between the 45-yard-lines during pregame warmups.
"Yeah, I think he was telling that story a couple of weeks ago," Josiah, speaking to the media Friday afternoon for the first time as a Mountaineer, recalled. "I never knew about that story until I was in the eighth grade, and somebody told me about it. Redshirt freshman linebacker Josiah Trotter during practice earlier this week (WVU Athletic Communications photo).
"I was like, 'He never got kicked out of a game!' So, I asked him, and he was like, "Yeah, I got kicked out.' I believe he said we had some family that came to the game and the next thing they heard he got kicked out and wasn't even playing," Josiah laughed.
What that story demonstrates about Jeremiah Trotter Sr. is that he has always meant business on the football field, and he made sure to pass that trait along to his two boys.
Jeremiah Trotter Jr. just finished up a fabulous college career at Clemson where he was a two-time All-American and the sixth Butkus Award finalist in school history. He's now attempting to follow in his father's footsteps with the Eagles as a fifth-round draft choice this past spring.
Josiah, who had college offers from coast to coast and is considered one of the most heavily recruited players Neal Brown has ever signed at West Virginia, chose to chart a different course.
Ohio State, Clemson, Oregon, Notre Dame, Clemson and South Carolina were the schools he heard from most, but West Virginia's persistent linebackers coach Jeff Koonz kept sending Josiah text messages that he couldn't ignore.
"The crazy thing is, West Virginia came a lot later on after I had a lot of those big schools," Trotter admitted. "I never thought I would be here until coach Koonz reached out and started texting me pretty consistently."
Trotter admitted Koonz's text messages took on a different meaning to him than the texts he was receiving from the other schools.
"You know when they need or they like you as a recruit, and you want to go where they need you – or even want you," Trotter explained. "They didn't just like me, they needed me and wanted me. That was something that set them apart from everybody else."
What is setting the redshirt freshman apart from everybody else in West Virginia's linebackers corps is his impressive size (240-plus pounds), athleticism, intelligence and, yes, his willingness to run full-blast into the China cabinet.
Last week, defensive coordinator Jordan Lesley began rattling off Trotter's attributes like he was reading Dick Butkus' biography from Wikipedia.
"A combination of size, power, explosiveness and the athleticism with speed at 240-plus," Lesley said. "There's not really anything that he does (poorly), whether it's a blitz, coverage, tackling, fitting or reading, he's just a total package-type of guy."
Defensive line coach A.J. Jackson doesn't coach Trotter, per se, but he sure does love watching him line up right behind the guys he does coach.
Jackson admits having him back there has already made a significant difference in West Virginia's defense.
"He can tackle a running back one-on-one in the hole, and I don't think we have to necessarily be as clean and as perfect up front," Jackson explained. "There can be a big window or a phone booth and he's going to be able to make the play, so guys don't have to worry about doing anything extra."
Jackson, being a New Yorker who grew up an East Coast football fan, was reluctant to compare Josiah to his father, but he sees some similarities.
"No. 1, he's a mixture of the new-school, athletic linebacker, and I hate to make the comparison, but kind of like his dad where he can be a box backer," Jackson said. "Playing with a guy like that behind you who can diagnose, there are not going to be a lot of double teams on my guys."
Even players lining up on the other side of Trotter each day in practice marvel at what he's bringing to this year's defense. Senior tight end Kole Taylor sees a potential star in the making.
"Trotter is already an unbelievable player," he noted. "He'll talk his talk, too, which is good for me because it fires me up. He's going to be a huge asset to our defense, and it was super unfortunate what happened to him last year (season-ending knee injury), and I know he's using it as fuel.
"He's also one of our highest iPad guys for film," Taylor continued. "He's in here all the time getting extra work, and he's going to be one of the leaders on the defensive side, and I think the defense is doing great overall."
Josiah says he wants to bring some good, old-fashioned Trotter family physicality to West Virginia's defense.
"I feel like that was the reason I was brought here," he explained. "I want my play to describe itself."
Having watched his older brother excel at Clemson, and hearing many different stories about his dad, Trotter said he already has a pretty good feel for the daily demands of a college football player.
He is willing to embrace his family's impressive football legacy but is also eager to set out and chart a different course from his father and his older sibling.
"I'm not afraid to be in anyone's shadow, but I'm going to create a name for myself," Trotter said.
If you are looking for a new jersey number to wear or a new Mountaineer football player to follow, No. 40 Josiah Trotter is someone you might want to consider.
You just get the feeling that he's capable of being one of those guys that people around here seem to remember far after their playing careers are finished.
Weather forced West Virginia to switch up its practice schedule for today. The Mountaineers did their walk-through this morning and opted for an evening practice under the lights.
WVU will conduct its first closed scrimmage of fall training camp tomorrow night under the lights inside Milan Puskar Stadium.
