Former Clemson defender starts for Furman. How he prepared for return to Death Valley
Furman’s defense has the tough task of trying to slow Clemson’s explosive offense and talented group of receivers in Saturday’s season-opener.
Paladins cornerback Amir Trapp knows firsthand what the Furman defense will be going up against.
Trapp signed with the Tigers in 2015 and, after redshirting as a freshman, played at Clemson in 2016 and 2017. He saw action in 10 games last year. He transferred to Furman in the offseason but will be back at Death Valley on Saturday.
“I’m excited to get back. It’s going to be some good competition for me and my teammates, so I’m looking forward to it,” Trapp told The State. “It’ll go back to the days of practice in a way, in a sense, just going back and forth. Some good competition coming out of those guys.”
Clemson has a deep group of wideouts with Hunter Renfrow, Tee Higgins and Amari Rodgers slated to start. The Tigers also return Trevion Thompson, Cornell Powell, T.J. Chase and Diondre Overton, in addition to adding freshmen Derion Kendrick and Justyn Ross to the mix.
“They’ve got some of the best in the nation, so I’m looking forward to it,” Trapp said.
Trapp, who grew up in Clemson and played at Daniel, made the decision to transfer from the Tigers late in the 2017 season.
He was heavily recruited by Furman during his initial recruiting process. When he decided to transfer from Clemson, the decision to go to Furman was an easy one, he said.
“It was good. They brought me in and showed me the ropes, showed me around campus and all that,” Trapp said. “The campus is a beautiful campus. You get to know a lot of people, get to know everybody. ... It’s a real friendly environment and family environment as well.”
Trapp has no hard feelings about parting ways with the Tigers and instead looks back fondly on his time at Clemson. He mentioned current players Clelin Ferrell, Tanner Muse and Denzel Johnson as guys who he stays in touch with.
“It was a heck of an experience. I made lifelong friends there. It’s something I’ll always remember,” Trapp said. “Something that stuck out to me the most was the group of guys I met there. I’m still in touch with them. Nothing wavered in that relationship during the transition.”
Trapp is excited to see where the Paladins stack up against one of the best FBS teams in the country. But after this week, he will also be keeping up with how his former Clemson teammates and coaches perform the rest of the year.
“It’ll be a good test for us,” Trapp said. “It’ll test us in a lot of categories going down the line. And it’ll carry on throughout the season. I think it’s good for us that we get this one off the bat. I’m hoping for the best for them. They deserve the best. They put the work in. So big ups to them. Big ups to those guys. I’m looking forward to seeing what they have in store.”
This story was originally published August 29, 2018 at 12:08 PM.