Clemson star 'early favorite' to be top linebacker in 2024 NFL draft

Clemson linebacker Trenton Simpson is expected to be a high draft pick in the 2023 NFL draft.

The Tigers could have another linebacker who is a high draft pick in next year’s draft, as well.

Pro Football Focus released its 101 best college football players from last season recently, and Clemson linebacker Jeremiah Trotter Jr. is ranked No. 73 on the list. Trotter is the only Clemson player who appears on the list.

According to PFF, Trotter was the only Power 5 linebacker in college football to grade 80-plus as a pass rusher and coverage defender in 2022.

Trotter started at MIKE linebacker for the Tigers last season and led Clemson with 92 tackles, 10 more than any other player on the team. The New Jersey native also led Clemson with 13.5 tackles for loss and tied for the team lead with 6.5 sacks.

PFF added that Trotter is “the early favorite to be the top linebacker in the 2024 NFL Draft.”

Clemson coach Dabo Swinney has praised Trotter since the moment he signed with the Tigers and continued to do so throughout this past season.

“Trotter, his football instincts, his football savvy, his football IQ, through the roof from the moment he got here,” Swinney said late last season. “He’s really settled in down the stretch here and has played some elite football.”

Trotter signed with Clemson as a five-star prospect and the No. 32 overall player in the country for the class of 2021, according to the On3 Consensus rankings.

As a freshman in 2021, Trotter recorded 22 tackles, including one tackle for loss, in 13 games.

He took a big step forward this past season, starting all 14 games and earning second-team All-American honors from the Associated Press.

“It feels good. I just give all glory to God. I wouldn’t have this opportunity without him and I just try to keep my head down and grind,” Trotter said of being named an All-American. “I’m really grateful for this award, being second-team All-American, and I’m just gonna try to keep my head down and get back to grinding and just keep working towards the main goal.”

Trotter is a part of a Clemson defense that returns eight starters for the 2023 season.

Despite losing Simpson, Clemson should still be loaded at linebacker again in 2023 with Trotter, Barrett Carter and Wade Woodaz.

Carter was named first-team All-ACC by Phil Steele after finishing with 77 tackles, including 10.5 tackles for loss this past season. Woodaz started one game as a true freshman in 2022 but is expected to move into the starting SAM/Nickel role in 2023.