The Clemson Tigers faced the Syracuse Orange in Week 7 of the college football season. Last weekend’s game was played at the Carrier Dome in Syracuse, New York, and was the start of a stretch of back-to-back road games.
It was also the first game of the season for offensive lineman Mason Trotter.
Trotter, a native of Roebuck, South Carolina, did not take the field in the first five games due to a hand injury that occurred during a walk-through prior to the season opener in Charlotte against Georgia.
“It was pretty disappointing because I knew that I was going to get the chance to go out there and try to prove myself,” Trotter said. “But everything happens for a reason. I just took it like that, and I’d just work my way back and try to get here.”
The 6-foot-2, 285-pound redshirt sophomore was a key reserve in 2020, playing 147 snaps in over nine games. Trotter was in the mix with teammates Hunter Rayburn and Matt Bockhorst for the starting center job in the offseason.
While he was not expecting to start Friday’s game against Syracuse, he found out he was getting the start the day of, following news that Rayburn would need to follow COVID-19 protocols. It was a shot he was ready to take.
“I wasn’t really expecting it because it was the day of, and I didn’t know what to think,” Trotter said. “I was just like, ‘I guess this is my time to go.’ It all happens for a reason, and I knew I was ready because I prepare. I just prepare like I’m going to have to go out there and play. That’s what I had to do, step up.”
Trotter admits it was probably better to find out on game day that he was getting the start because he didn’t have to think about it all week or worry about it. As for how he feels he did in the 17-14 win: “I was pleased with my performance. I thought I did good. Obviously, the (one errant) snap didn’t go that way and there was a couple plays here and there that I was disappointed with. But overall I think I did good.”
On the team’s reaction to that one bad snap: “That’s all they preach. Just next play. You can’t sit there and worry about all the bad plays because then it’s just going to mess up the next plays. So everyone is just encouraging and saying not to worry about it.”
Up next for No. 24 Clemson is No. 23 Pittsburgh. Trotter on Pitt’s defensive run: “They’re good players. They get after it. They’re a really good team, and they play well together. And so we’re just going to have to come prepare for them because they’re trying to beat us and we’re going to try to beat them.”
Kickoff is set for 3:30 p.m on Saturday from Heinz Field.
