Jeremiah Trotter Jr. excels at Clemson with No. 54 on his back, just like ‘The Axe Man’

The No. 54 jersey will be forever ingrained in the minds of Eagles fans. Soon enough, that same jersey number will be forever remembered by Clemson Tigers fans.

A glimpse of what Jeremiah Trotter Jr. could be in a few short years was on full display last Saturday, despite No. 9 Clemson’s narrow loss to rival South Carolina. Jeremiah Trotter Sr., aka “The Axe Man,” says his son was “born to play linebacker.”

“I remember before he learned how to swim, he just ran and jumped in the pool and he couldn’t swim and I had to get him out,” the elder Trotter remembered. “Just fearless, so I knew at a young age he was going to play linebacker.”

“I think that was something I naturally gravitated toward,” the younger Trotter recalled. “Usually in middle school football, they put the big players at the linebacker position, they like them to be in the middle so they can run all across the field and make tackles.”

Trotter is still running across the field. A week after he scored his first collegiate touchdown on a 35-yard interception return, the standout sophomore will take the field in Charlotte, N.C., on Saturday night as No. 10 Clemson faces No. 24 North Carolina in the Atlantic Coast Conference championship game.

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The elder Trotter, 45, spent 11 seasons in the NFL, most of which his son cannot remember. What he does remember is the adoration that former teammates and fans had for his father, especially in Philadelphia.

“As I got older and he started to make his way out of the league when we were invited back to Eagles training camp practices or invited back to the Eagles games, I was able to meet some of the friends he played with, see how the fans interacted with him,” the Clemson star explained. “That really showed me the type of player that he was and the contributions to the game of football.”

By his freshman year at St. Joseph’s Prep, the younger Trotter had received offers from Rutgers, Maryland, and Temple. It didn’t take long for other schools to come calling.

“Some real big schools like Clemson, who offered me [a scholarship] after my sophomore year … that’s when I really started to blow up,” he said. “We were playing nationally ranked teams and I was performing well, so that really started to get me clout.”

Trotter picked Clemson before the start of his junior season, and a community-service trip by the St. Joe’s Prep team near the university that summer was the a big reason for choosing the Tigers, his father said.

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“Coach Mike [Reed], the DB coach down at Clemson, was my assistant linebackers coach at the Eagles, so having that relationship, that bond with him, [helped] everything fall into place,” the elder Trotter said.

“... They wanted him to come down to a camp a few days before. We went down there, and on the first day of camp, they offered him a full scholarship. I loved what they were doing and the family atmosphere. And I think it was a perfect fit for him.”

His son was at 6-foot and 205 pounds playing linebacker, and some schools were concerned that he would be too small for the position. The Tigers and coach Dabo Swinney never wavered in the recruiting process.

“The type of guys and people [Swinney] is surrounding his players with is something that I really value, and also when I went to the camp, they evaluated me on my talent and the ability I had at the linebacker position,” said the younger Trotter, who now weighs 230 pounds. “They weren’t really worried that I might be too small.”

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Three state championships later, with a ranking as the nation’s No. 1 high school linebacker, Trotter blossomed into one of the best recruits in the class of 2021. He became an early enrollee at Clemson to get a jump on a complicated defensive system led by then-coordinator Brent Venables.

Playing 59 defensive snaps as a freshman set the stage for Trotter to become a key contributor for the Tigers defense in 2022.

As a sophomore and first-year starter, Trotter has registered 74 tackles, nine tackles for losses, 3½ sacks, and two interceptions in 12 starts this season.

The biggest growth in his game can be credited to film sessions between father and son, an interaction his dad cherishes.

“I love it, man ... to have a common thing that we both love and are interested in and have something to communicate and talk to you about is good, because if it wasn’t for that, you’re not going to get a few words out of it,” the elder Trotter said with a laugh.

“I go through the film and by the time he gets home from practice, I send him [my] notes on his practice. So when the next day comes around when he’s watching the film, at the complex, he’ll look at the notes and see the notes I’ve given him.”

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Said the younger Trotter: “Sometimes he might see something I didn’t see that needs to be corrected and it really helps me fine-tune my game and focus on those little details that take you from being a good player to a great player.”

Since the first time the younger Trotter put on shoulder pads and a helmet, he has always donned No. 54. This season, more than ever, he’s embracing not just the number but the emotion too. Against Miami a few weeks ago, following a sack, he brought out the axe-swinging celebration, an homage to his father.

The two may be bound by blood as father and son, but when the son is flying to the football, making bone-crushing hits, or bringing the quarterback down for a sack, it seems like mirror image of the man who once electrified the crowd at Lincoln Financial Field in midnight green.

“It was special for him wanting to wear it as a kid, and now when he’s able to make his own decisions, it’s even more special for me that he wants to continue that legacy,” the elder Trotter said. “And that’s one of the first things we asked Clemson when we committed: ‘Hey, is number 54 free?’”

“I want to wear it because I’ve worn it my whole life,” Jeremiah Trotter Jr. said, “and for me it would be hard to change that number.”