Josiah Trotter: LB · Missouri · #40.
Closest statistical matches, adjusted for opponent strength.
Josiah Trotter
Fills the run lane and blitzes off the edge. Played for two head coaches at two programs in two seasons: Chad Scott and Eli Drinkwitz. All-SEC in 2025 made it two straight seasons on the honors list. A game that shows it: 13 tackles and 1.5 tackles for loss against Oklahoma — Week 13, 2025.
Play style
Downhill striker who fills the run lane and blitzes off the edge.
Activity vs finishing · season enumeration
What the box score actually says
84 tackles. 1 pass defended. 0 interceptions. 13 TFL.
Counts only, never a rate — splash-event sample sizes this small (interceptions, pass breakups, TFL) are noise as a rate and signal only as a tally.
No outlet on our list has written about this player by name this season.
Swipe the table sideways for more columns.
| Season | Team | ||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2025 | Missouri | 84 | 43 | 13.0 | 2.0 | 1 | -- |
| 2024 | West Virginia | 93 | 37 | 4.0 | 0.5 | 2 | 1 |
| Career | 177 | 80 | 17.0 | 2.5 | 3 | 1 |
Game log · Week-by-week
2025 season · 12 games
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| Wk | Opp | TKL | SOLO | TFL | SACK | INT | PD | Note |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Wk 1 | W 61-6vs Central Arkansas | 8 | 5 | 1.0 | 0.0 | — | 0 | |
| Wk 2 | W 42-31vs Kansas | 5 | 2 | 2.0 | 0.0 | — | 0 | |
| Wk 3 | W 52-10vs Louisiana | 2 | 2 | 2.0 | 0.0 | — | 0 | |
| Wk 4 | W 29-20vs South Carolina | 11 | 5 | 1.0 | 0.0 | — | 0 | |
| Wk 5 | W 42-6vs Massachusetts | 2 | 0 | 0.0 | 0.0 | — | 0 | |
| Wk 7 | L 24-27vs No. 8 Alabama | 8 | 3 | 0.0 | 0.0 | — | 0 | |
| Wk 8 | W 23-17@ Auburn | 8 | 7 | 2.0 | 1.0 | — | 0 | |
| Wk 9 | L 10-17@ No. 10 Vanderbilt | 9 | 3 | 0.0 | 0.0 | — | 0 | |
| Wk 11 | L 17-38vs No. 3 Texas A&M | 6 | 3 | 0.5 | 0.0 | — | 1 | |
| Wk 12 | W 49-27vs Mississippi State | 2 | 1 | 1.0 | 0.0 | — | 0 | |
| Wk 13 | L 6-17@ No. 8 Oklahoma | 13 | 5 | 1.5 | 0.0 | — | 0 | Season-high 13 tackles |
| Wk 14 | W 31-17@ Arkansas | 10 | 7 | 2.0 | 1.0 | — | 0 | |
| Total | 84 | 43 | 13.0 | 2.0 | — | 1 |
Week 8 · 2025
W 23-17
at Auburn
1 sack · 2 tackles for loss · 8 tackles
A close one, won by 6 on the road.
Where his impact shows up on the stat sheet
Tackle volume
84tackles this seasonTFL rate
15%13 TFLSack rate
2%2 sacksPD rate
1%1 pass breakups84 tackles · 13 for loss · 2 sacks.
Splits · Per-game
2025 season · 12 games
Home vs Road
| TKL/g | TFL/g | SACK/g | PD/g | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Home8g | 5.5 | 0.9 | 0.0 | 0.1 |
| Road4g | 10.0 | 1.4 | 0.5 | 0.0 |
First half vs Second half
| TKL/g | TFL/g | SACK/g | PD/g | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Weeks 1-76g | 6.0 | 1.0 | 0.0 | 0.0 |
| Weeks 8+6g | 8.0 | 1.2 | 0.3 | 0.2 |
Supporting cast · Scheme
Staff and system around the player
Head Coach
Eli Drinkwitz
Pass share
39.6%
360 pass / 550 run
Plays / game
70.0
13 games
Team sack rate
6.9%
379 dropbacks · PBP
Scheme: Run-heavy.
Player standing · 2025
First team in his league at the position.
Recognition
Production · CFB Zeitgeist Score
Three-star recruit. Now #121 at the position.
How it ended
Two seasons, at West Virginia and Missouri, 177 tackles, a first-team All-Conference season (2025) — drafted at #46 overall by the Tampa Bay Buccaneers.
Honored in a first season.
Trophy case · Confirmed honors
What the selectors said
ALL-SEC · 1ST TEAM
All-SEC 1st team (2025)
Coaching lineage · 2023–2025
2 coachesPlayed for 2 head coaches at 2 schools: Neal Brown and Eli Drinkwitz.
Next stop · NFL
Tampa Bay Buccaneers2026 NFL rookie season
Tampa Bay Buccaneers2026 NFL rookie season
