Picking up a well-deserved accolade after Clemson beat Florida State 34-28 this past weekend, sophomore linebacker Jeremiah Trotter Jr. earned his first career ACC weekly award when he was named ACC Linebacker of the Week.
A position that was in question coming into the season after the losses of James Skalski and Baylon Spector seems to be doing just fine, and some think this year’s linebacker group may even be faster and more athletic overall. Trotter totaled a career-high 13 tackles in Saturday’s game and was a huge help in getting Clemson the win at FSU.
When the fourth quarter crept around, the Seminoles quickly closed the large gap the Tigers had built with a couple of fourth-quarter touchdowns. As a main focus this week, Trotter said, “Our defensive leaders have been preaching to make sure we close out games, and keep our foot on that gas pedal all the way throughout the whole game.”
On what went wrong, Trotter added, “We missed assignments fitting gaps wise, and then our tackling as well is something we’ll make sure we focus on this week and get better at.”
Looking ahead to this weekend’s game against 14th-ranked Syracuse, the Tigers have a pretty strong schedule this season, and the ACC as a whole is proving itself as a conference. After past years of being overlooked, Trotter is happy that the ACC is getting some recognition and showing “it’s not just a walk through the park.”
Syracuse comes with a highly physical quarterback, Garrett Shrader. On how to deal with Shrader and his running ability, Trotter said, “You definitely have to make sure you wrap him up… get as much body on him as possible, so he doesn’t run through your arms.”
It’ll be a packed stadium in Death Valley this weekend as the Tigers take on the only other undefeated ACC team for their homecoming game. Kickoff is set for noon and the game will be televised on ABC.
