Ex-West Virginia linebacker, son of former NFL star, signs with Missouri

On Monday, the former West Virginia linebacker and son of former NFL linebacker Jeremiah Trotter Sr. announced he’s transfering to Missouri and coach Eliah Drinkwitz. ESPN’s Pete Thamel first reported Trotter’s decision to join the Tigers.

‘I’m home Mizzou,’ Josiah Trotter wrote on X (formerly Twitter) after posting a photo of him in a Missouri jersey.

Thamel reported that Drinkwitz and Missouri beat out Washington in the sweepstakes for Josiah Trotter. He entered the transfer portal on Dec. 4, three days after the Mountaineers fired Neil Brown and eight days before hiring his successor in former West Virginia coach Rich Rodriguez.

247Sports listed Trotter as the No. 5 linebacker in the transfer portal.

After redshirting his true freshman year rehabbing from a lower-leg injury that he sustained in spring practice, the 6-foot-2 linebacker had a breakout season for the Mountaineers this year. In 12 games this season, Josiah Trotter finished with 93 total tackles (four for a loss), two broken-up passes, an interception and half a sack en route to winning the Big 12 Defensive Freshman of the Year — which marked a first in program history.

He finished with 10 or more tackles in four games this season for the Mountaineers against Penn State, Kansas, Iowa State and Cincinnati.

Josiah Trotter is the younger brother of former Clemson linebacker Jeremiah Trotter Jr., who was selected in the third round of the NFL draft in April by the Philadelphia Eagles. He is the fourth player in the transfer portal to commit to Missouri this offseason, according to the Columbia Daily Tribune’s Calum McAndrew.

Josiah Trotter 247Sports ranking

As prospect: Three-star recruit | No. 44 ranked linebacker | No. 9 prospect in Pennsylvania
As transfer: Three-star recruit | No. 5 ranked linebacker

Josiah Trotter was ranked as a three-star recruit and the No. 5 linebacker in the transfer portal, according to 247Sports. He received similar rankings out of high school at St. Joe’s Prep by 247Sports’ Composite rankings, which had him as a three-star recruit and the No. 44 linebacker in the 2023 recruiting class.