4-star linebacker Josiah Trotter puts Penn State among top 5 schools
Updated: Feb. 25, 2022, 3:02 p.m. | Published: Feb. 25, 2022, 3:02 p.m.
Josiah Trotter, St. Joseph's Prep, tackles Alex Tecza, Mt. Lebanon, but Mt. Lebanon beats St. JosephÕs Prep 35-17 for the 2021 PIAA Class 6A Football Championship at Hersheypark Stadium in Hershey, Pa., Dec. 11, 2021. Mark Pynes | mpynes@pennlive.com
By Daniel Gallen | dgallen@pennlive.com
STATE COLLEGE — Penn State remains in the mix for St. Joseph’s Prep linebacker Josiah Trotter as he cuts down his list of options ahead of the spring.
The Nittany Lions were in the latest top five that Trotter posted to social media Friday afternoon. Penn State is joined by Virginia Tech, Clemson, West Virginia and South Carolina on the list.
The 6-foot-2, 230-pound Trotter is a four-star recruit in the 247Sports composite rankings, and he’s ranked as the No. 7 player in Pennsylvania, the No. 26 linebacker nationally and the No. 269 overall prospect in the Class of 2023.
Trotter is ranked as the No. 4 linebacker and the No. 12 overall prospect in Pennsylvania.
Trotter has football bloodlines. His father, Jeremiah, played for the Philadelphia Eagles and Washington Commanders in the NFL, while his older brother, Jeremiah Jr., just finished his freshman year at Clemson.
Penn State originally offered Trotter in May 2020.
Trotter released a list of his top eight schools last month, and the three schools that missed the cut in his latest update were Texas A&M, Ohio State and Notre Dame.
Trotter helped St. Joseph’s Prep to the PIAA Class 6A title game last fall, and he finished the year with 114 tackles, nine for loss, with 2.5 sacks, two fumble recoveries and six passes defensed. He made PennLive’s All-Pennsylvania Football Team for the 2021 season.
Penn State currently has eight commitments in the Class of 2023, and the class ranks No. 1 in the Big Ten and No. 3 nationally in the 247Sports composite rankings.
Trotter is part of an impressive class of linebackers in Pennsylvania for the current cycle, along with Brashear four-star Ta’Mere Robinson, Archbishop Wood four-star Semaj Bridgeman and Pennridge four-star Phil Picciotti.
