Trenton Simpson

Credited with 187 tackles (22.5 for loss), 12.5 sacks, six pass breakups and three forced fumbles in 1,443 snaps over 37 games (27 starts) from 2020-22 … two-time Academic All-ACC Team selection.

2022: Butkus Award semifinalist … Lott IMPACT Trophy semifinalist … third-team All-ACC selection … also earned third-team All-ACC honors from Phil Steele … All-ACC Academic Team selection … tied for third on the team with 77 tackles (4.0 for loss) as credited by the coaching staff, 2.5 sacks, three pass breakups and two forced fumbles in 616 defensive snaps over 12 games (all starts) … credited with eight tackles at Georgia Tech … added another eight tackles, a team high, vs. Furman … posted three tackles vs. Louisiana Tech … recorded a team-high-tying eight tackles, a forced fumble and a pass breakup at No. 21 Wake Forest … credited with six tackles vs. No. 10 NC State … posted a team-high six tackles and added a pass breakup at Boston College … added nine tackles at Florida State … had a half-sack among his two tackles vs. No. 14 Syracuse … led team with 10 tackles and a pass breakup at Notre Dame … contributed a career-high-tying two sacks and a forced fumble vs. Miami (Fla.) … added six tackles vs. South Carolina … tied for team lead with nine tackles (1.5 for loss) vs. No. 24 North Carolina … unable to participate in the Orange Bowl while recovering from an ankle injury.

2021: Ranked third on the team with 78 tackles and finished second in both tackles for loss (12.0) and sacks (6.0) while also adding three pass breakups over 556 snaps in 13 games (12 starts) … earned all-conference selections from PFF (second team) and Phil Steele (third team) … All-ACC Academic Team selection … contributed two tackles vs. No. 5 Georgia … made one tackle vs. SC State … credited with five tackles, including a half-sack, in less than one half of action vs. Georgia Tech … added eight tackles and a pass breakup at NC State … made five tackles (0.5 for loss) and recorded a pass breakup vs. Boston College … added five tackles (one for loss) at Syracuse … contributed four tackles with a sack at No. 23 Pitt … credited with eight tackles (2.5 for loss) and a half-sack vs. Florida State, giving him a sack in consecutive games for the first time in his career … credited by the coaching staff with 13 tackles (3.0 for loss) including 2.0 sacks at Louisville, all career highs, to earn defensive player of the game honors … added five tackles, a pass breakup and a sack vs. UConn, becoming the first Clemson player with at least half a sack in four straight games since Clelin Ferrell in 2018 … recorded 10 tackles (1.5 for loss) and a sack in earning team defensive player of the game honors vs. No. 13 Wake Forest, becoming the first Clemson player with at least half a sack in five straight games since Kevin Dodd in the final five games of the 2015 season … contributed six tackles (one for loss) at South Carolina … added six tackles vs. Iowa State.

2020: Produced an impressive true freshman campaign as he was credited with 32 tackles (6.5 for loss), 4.0 sacks and a forced fumble in 271 snaps over 12 games (three starts) … along with fellow true freshmen Myles Murphy and Bryan Bresee, their four sacks each tied William Perry (4.0 in 1981), Ricky Sapp (4.0 in 2006) and Shaq Lawson (4.0 in 2013) for third-most sacks by a Clemson true freshman all-time … made collegiate debut at Wake Forest, adding one tackle … recorded two tackles including his first career sack vs. The Citadel … contributed six tackles at Georgia Tech … added two tackles vs. Syracuse … made three tackles with a sack and forced fumble vs. Boston College … registered seven tackles (0.5 for loss) at No. 4 Notre Dame … notched his third sack of the season among his two tackles vs. Pitt … added four tackles (one for loss) at Virginia Tech … had two tackles for loss and a sack among his five tackles in ACC Championship Game vs. No. 2 Notre Dame.

Before Clemson: Played for Michael Palmieri at Mallard Creek High School in Charlotte, where he helped his team to a 10-1 record and No. 3 ranking in the state of North Carolina according to MaxPreps … started his high school career as a running back, playing both running back and linebacker in 2019 … led the Mallard Creek defense with 20 sacks … had 44 carries for 371 yards and six touchdowns … named first-team postseason All-American by Sports Illustrated … for his career, recorded 97 carries for 799 yards and seven touchdowns with 8.2-yard average per carry … won the Arnold R. Solomon Award for the North Carolina High School Football Player of the Year from NCPreps.com in 2019 … at the time of his signing, ranked as the No. 13 overall player in the nation by 247Sports, which also listed him as the second-best linebacker and top player in North Carolina … Rivals.com rated him as the No. 26 overall player, the second-best linebacker and top player in North Carolina … ESPN.com ranked him No. 107 overall, the 11th-best linebacker and fourth-best player in North Carolina … listed as the top player in North Carolina by the Charlotte Observer … selected to Under Armour All-America Game … originally committed to Auburn … committed to Clemson on Dec. 14, 2019 and signed with the Tigers four days later … recruited to Clemson by Danny Pearman and Brent Venables.

Personal: Born June 14, 2001 … wore No. 22 in high school … enrolled at Clemson in January 2020 … earned degree in sports communication in December 2022 … son of Command Sgt. Maj. Timothy D. Simpson, who served 17 overseas tours from 1994-21 in his decorated career with the U.S. Army Rangers … two-time ACC Honor Roll selection (2020-21).