Jeremiah Trotter Jr. Knew Early On Clemson Was School for Him

Freshman linebacker Jeremiah Trotter Jr said he knew early on in the recruiting process that Clemson was the school for him.

It didn't take long for Jeremiah Trotter Jr to know Clemson was the place for him.

After working out at one of Dabo Swinney's high school camps, which included a tour of the facilities, the freshman linebacker knew he was all in.

"I decided Clemson was for me when I came down for the camp," Trotter told the media earlier this week. "After performing at the camp, I thought I did pretty well, and Coach Venables liked what he saw. When I went on the tour around campus and everything the coaches were talking to me about, I knew for sure this was the place for me because it has all of the values that I was looking for. I was 100-percent sure that I had to commit."

Trotter is from Philadelphia, and for some, transitioning from the big city life to a small town like Clemson could prove to be difficult. However, for Trotter, the family first culture Dabo Swinney has created inside the program made it a little easier for the talented linebacker.

"The transition has been a little bit different," he said. "Up there, where I came from, I feel like there was a little more where I lived rather than here at Clemson. On-campus, there are not too many areas to just go hang out, but I still love it down here. It's a great experience. I just love the combination of athletics and academics here."

Trotter is part of a very talented and very deep linebacker room at Clemson. The son of 12-year NFL veteran Jeremiah Trotter Sr has appeared in both games the Tigers have played so far. 

After logging some special teams snaps in the season-opening loss to Georgia, he recorded his first career sack last weekend against S.C. State, and Trotter credits that culture inside the program for helping to have him prepared to play as a true freshman.

"The culture they have here," Trotter said. "They had a lot of the stuff I was looking for as far as a brotherhood. Everybody was helping each other out as soon as I got here. James Skalski helped me learn the playbook. Baylon Spector is here helping me out. The coaches love their players. They really care about the players. Whether you're a walk-on or the starter, they're going to show the same interest to you and make sure you're handling your business."

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