Potter aiming for NFL career, will look back on Clemson time forever

BT Potter hopes to be Clemson's first drafted placekicker since 1985.

by Ariana Pensy - Correspondent - Thu Mar 23 13:32:05 GMT-04:00 2023

CLEMSON - The Tigers may have some big names going into the NFL on offense and defense, but don’t forget about special teams.

Kicker BT Potter has finished his collegiate career, holding the record for the highest-scoring kicker in Clemson history and second in scoring overall only to former Tigers running back Travis Etienne. He reflected on his five-year career recently.

“So many memories, so many good times and relationships built,” Potter said. “You know, there’s definitely things I can look back on and enjoy, but, really, getting back on here the last couple of days, just realizing the amount of fun times that I’ve had with my friends outside the facility is just something that I’ll look back on forever.”

Potter was quite the successful kicker in his time with the Tigers, only missing one extra point (back in 2020) and making 75.3% of his career field goals for a total of 453 points; the most points he had in a season was 118 in 2019 while he made all 79 of his field goal attempts along with 13 of 21 field goal attempts.

As he’s pursuing a career in the NFL, it was necessary for him to showcase his talent at Clemson’s Pro Day. It was quite the good day for him; almost all of his kickoffs went into the endzone and he was hitting field goals from beyond 50 yards.

“I thought I had a really good day,” Potter said. “Kicking off, I hit the roof twice and I’d never done that.”

Leg strength is something that he believes is incredibly important going pro because it is essential for kickers, especially being able to kick in various weather conditions. While Clemson doesn’t get below zero temperatures or 50 mile an hour winds, this is something that Potter will have to be prepared for in the NFL.

“I think definitely teams are looking for leg strength and when you go into the NFL, just thinking about going and playing in Green Bay in December and it’s windy and cold and you have to be able to kick the ball far,” Potter said. “So, they’re looking for that and definitely, just like your form, that’s something that you can always work on.”

He’s already getting a good start though. Potter has already talked to a number of different NFL teams, including the Steelers, Jaguars, Vikings and Rams. The Rams are probably the team most in need of a kicker since their former kicker Matt Gay, was recently signed with the Indianapolis Colts. Veteran kickers are sometimes hard to find in the NFL, making the draft an ideal place to find a young kicker. That has probably contributed to why Potter has numerous private workouts scheduled in the coming weeks.

Kickers are not always drafted in the NFL, particularly from Clemson. In fact, the last kicker drafted out of Clemson was Donald Igwebuike back in 1985. In total, the Tigers have had five kickers drafted (although one of them, Fred Cone back in 1951, also played fullback). The earliest a Clemson kicker has been drafted is in the seventh round, which is now the last round in the NFL Draft. Being drafted is not a priority for Potter though, he just wants to play.

“I’d love to be drafted,” Potter said. “I’d be happy to just be on a team.”