West Virginia LB Trotter remained engaged despite injury

West Virginia didn't have the services of freshman linebacker Josiah Trotter this past season.

One of the top recruits in the 2023 recruiting class, Trotter was injured during spring practice and required surgery which forced him to miss the entire season.

The son of former Philadelphia Eagles linebacker Jeremiah, the younger Trotter was expected to compete for time immediately in a linebacker room that had question marks behind Lee Kpogba.

"He's probably as big of a recruit as we’ve had here. I really believe he would have been a significant factor for us last fall as a true freshman if he didn’t get injured," head coach Neal Brown said.

But that didn't occur and instead, his focus shifted to rehabilitation.

However, there also was the balancing act of keeping Trotter engaged with the football program despite the fact that he didn't see the field this past fall.

The adjustment to college is hard enough for a true freshman especially when you’re not able to play the game you love.

“He loves football so much and he’s in the meetings. He’s at walkthroughs,” inside linebackers coach Jeff Koonz said after the injury.

Koonz, who serves as his position coach, also took it upon himself to watch film with Trotter when it presented itself.

“We’ll go through the calls and make the calls and ask questions. Even though he’s not playing he’s still having the most questions of anybody in the room,” Koonz said.

The fact that Trotter continued to attack the game as well as his rehab is something that only helped him prepare for stepping back onto the field this spring where he will be full go according to Brown.

"Last year he prepared like he was playing every week even though he was clearly going to miss the season. I know he’s probably itching to get back on the field as much as anybody in our program," Brown said.

And now the focus is the impact that Trotter will have with his playing ability.

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