MORGANTOWN, W.Va. — Josiah Trotter was set to have every opportunity to make a splash as a true freshman.
An early enrollee at West Virginia, the linebacker was participating in his eighth spring practice prior to starting college when he suffered a torn ACL that would ultimately prevent him from having any chance of contributing in his first year of college football.
“I didn’t know exactly if it was MCL or ACL, because in high school, I had an MCL injury. Once I got the MRI, they told me everything that happened,” Trotter recalled. “I knew it was pretty bad, especially going to Los Angeles to get surgery. A lot more happened that we didn’t really know before hand. It’s a pretty hard injury and pretty devastating at the time. I was looking forward to the season, but everything happens for a reason.”
Trotter was one of the Mountaineers’ more heralded recruits in their 2023 class, a native of Philadelphia from a family with no shortage of success as linebackers.
Trotter’s father, Jeremiah Trotter, spent the majority of his NFL career that spanned from 1998-2009 with the Philadelphia Eagles and was a two-time All-Pro in addition to a four-time Pro Bowl pick. His older brother, Jeremiah Trotter Jr., became a fifth-round selection of the Eagles in this year’s draft following a standout career at Clemson as a two-time All-American.
“We take something from my dad that he really instilled in all of us — that physical part of the game and how they really played the game back in the day in his time,” Trotter said. “He instilled in us not only how to play the run game, but destroy blockers and be a leader. Personality wise, me and my brother are two different people and also our games. He’s good at a lot of things I may not be good at, and I’m good at things he may not be better at, but I take a lot of things from his game and he takes things from my game.”
Trotter hopes to showcase those traits at will linebacker in the near future when he debuts for the Mountaineers one year later than anticipated.
At 6-foot-2 and 238 pounds, Trotter is the heaviest of WVU’s linebackers — something he hopes to make the most of in an effort to bring attitude and quality play to the Mountaineer defense.
“They didn’t just like me. They needed and wanted me,” Trotter said. “That was something that set them apart from everybody else, and the scheme and fit. I really love this defense. Coach Lesley’s defense fits me really well being able to play mike, will or coming off the edge.”
Because of his stature and prowess for making plays downhill, Trotter adds an element of physicality that shouldn’t just help him and other linebackers, but also those playing in front of Trotter.
“He’s a mixture of the, new-school, athletic linebacker, and I know he hates the comparison, but the combination of being like his dad where he can be a box backer,” WVU defensive line coach Andrew Jackson said. “You know with a guy playing behind you that can diagnose, there’s not going to be a lot of double teams. So if you just do your job and communicate, they have to go block him, too. He’s not going to be sitting back there just waiting. He’s aggressive and a great communicator.”
As a standout at Saint Joseph’s Prep, Trotter’s play earned him an invite to the All-American Bowl in San Antonio. He was courted by numerous major college football programs, including Ohio State, Penn State, Clemson, Oregon, Notre Dame and South Carolina.
Ultimately, the relationship Trotter formed with WVU inside linebackers coach Jeff Koonz ruled out in his recruitment.
“I never really thought that I’d be here until coach Koonz really reached out and was texting me pretty consistently,” Trotter said. “I decided to talk to my dad and take a visit. I wasn’t the recruit to really look at logos and how big a school was. I wanted to go somewhere that really wanted me for me, I could fit within the scheme and culture and make a big impact.
“He kept reaching out, I took a visit and fell in love with the scheme, coaches, area and how the fans treated the team and what the team really meant to West Virginia. I loved seeing how Karl Joseph, Tavon Austin and a lot of those older dudes really made an impact on this team and state. I wanted to be able to do that and really bring that back to West Virginia.”
Trotter’s mission now is to remain healthy and show the Mountaineers his addition to the lineup is a big benefit to the defense.
“I wanted to make an impact right away no matter what it was. I had a chance to compete for a starting job and it went sideways,” he said. “Other plans happen, but you have to restart and come back this year and make a statement.”
