One of the scariest sights as a football fan is seeing one of your favorite team’s players with their helmet off, walking into the makeshift blue tents for medical examination on the sideline.
Clemson football alumnus Jeremiah Trotter Jr. has regularly visited that blue tent over the course of his first two seasons for the Philadelphia Eagles. But, as The Philadelphia Inquirer first reported, it hasn’t been because he needs medical attention.
Trotter has to use the bathroom. Frequently.
While tracking player movement during training camp, Philadelphia journalists noticed that the second-year linebacker routinely stopped at the portable toilet located by the media entrance before practice each day.
“I do drink a lot of fluids,” Trotter admitted. “I try to drink a lot of electrolytes.”
It isn’t just a superstition or strange habit, though. During the first or second session of the 2024 training camp, Trotter cramped up and missed the rest of the session. He attributed it to excessive sweating.
“‘Yeah, that’s not happening again,’” he told himself. “So I make sure I overhydrate, and if I got to use the bathroom, I got to use the bathroom. It is what it is.”
Although Trotter will point to that practice as the start of his overhydration, one of his Clemson teammates will say otherwise.
Will Shipley, who played with Trotter at Clemson and whom the Eagles also drafted in the 2024 NFL draft, argues that it dates back to at least the two’s sophomore year.
At that time, they had just become starters and would warm up for practice opposite one another. Shipley said he would usually arrive first.
“Eventually, it got to the point where I was like, ‘I’ll see Trot in a minute coming from the bathroom.’ To me, he definitely didn’t start last year,” Shipley said.
“I got more serious about it as I got older,” Trotter conceded.
Although he has faced some friendly razzing for this, it’s hard to argue with Trotter’s rationale, especially given his performance on the field.
In three seasons at Clemson, as a starting linebacker for two of them, Trotter accrued 192 total tackles, 13 sacks, four interceptions and two touchdowns for the Tiger defense. His play made him the No. 155 overall pick in the 2024 NFL draft.
After the cramping incident, he carved out a role for himself as the special teams ace of the Super Bowl 59 champions, recovering a fumble on the opening kickoff of his first career playoff game. Through 25 career games, Trotter has posted 36 total tackles and half a sack.
If he’s not in the restroom, you can find Jeremiah Trotter Jr. making plays.
