Coming up on his last game in Death Valley, Clemson kicker B.T. Potter is surely leaving a notable legacy behind.
Looking back this week, the super senior from Rock Hill, S.C., spoke about his most memorable kick.
“The one that meant the most to me was my sophomore year,” Potter said. “I had a bad game, I actually got benched, and then the next week — I didn’t even know it was going to happen — and he (Dabo Swinney) sent me out there for, I think it was like 51 or 52 (yards). It meant a lot to me as a player, but also it helped me as a man to just realize things happen, but it’s always about how you come back.”
This week being rivalry week, Potter talked about how “awesome” it would be to leave Clemson being undefeated against South Carolina. The “rivalry means a lot” to him, but putting the rivalry behind, Potter is thinking about how “it’ll be my last time running down the hill, and it’s pretty emotional. Whenever I got here, I never thought this day would come, so I’m just really looking forward to it one last time.”
Always being a Clemson fan at heart as a kid, Potter has been able to experience this hardcore rivalry as both a member of the team and as a fan. He says “it’s definitely changed a little bit, but now it’s like I can actually contribute. It’s crazy because the whole year… you know you hang your head on if you win or lose to these guys (South Carolina).”
Along his kicking career journey, Potter’s mindset and routine has changed.
“As you mature, you process and your brain really changes,.” he said. “It’s like now you’re going out there to make the kick instead of to miss the kick.”
He also quoted Swinney, who told him, “Your maturity has some extra talent.”
Potter, “strictly a ham guy,” said he wouldn’t be taking part in any kind of huge Thanksgiving feast Thursday, but he’s confident the Tigers will be ready for the Gamecocks on Saturday starting at noon.
