Potter steps it up now that he's a starter
A reporter asked Nebraska defensive end Zach Potter what has been his biggest on-field improvement this season.
He started to respond, then laughed.
Perhaps, Potter said, the fact he’s on the field is his biggest improvement.
“I’ve already made as many tackles this season,” Potter said, “as I made my first two years.”
That’s true. Potter, a junior from Omaha, has seven tackles in two games. He combined for four tackles through his freshman and sophomore seasons.
In fact, Potter had more blocked kicks (two) than tackles (one) as a freshman.
While those blocks were pivotal plays in close Nebraska victories — against Pittsburgh and Kansas State — Potter prefers the every-down role he now assumes with the Blackshirts.
“Getting in a rhythm,” Potter said, “really helps me out.”
Finding such a rhythm, however, is pretty difficult when you’re playing behind a first-round NFL Draft pick.
“Just being the guy he was, I mean, I wasn’t going to get the reps,” Potter said, referring to three-year starting defensive end Adam Carriker.
“You look at the reps I got my freshman and sophomore years, I wasn’t getting anywhere near the reps I’m getting now.”
Keep in mind, though, that Potter isn’t starting simply because Carriker is gone. Seems that Potter responded well to an offseason pep talk from coaches, who implored their untested defensive end to pick things up a notch.
Was it an encouraging speech? A kick-in-the-rear-end speech?
“It was a little of everything,” Potter said. “They basically said I had to step up, that it’s my position to lose now. They told me I had to get stronger, which I did. Keep getting better at technique.
“Spring ball really helped me with technique, just going up against guys like Carl (Nicks) and Lydon (Murtha). I really hadn’t gotten that many reps against them. I mainly went against the twos. Getting reps against them really helped me improve a lot.”
Nebraska defensive coordinator Kevin Cosgrove said he saw “tremendous improvement” from Potter in the spring.
The compliments don’t seem to be hallow, either.
“He plays about as square and good a base as we’ve had in a long time,” Cosgrove said. “That’s why he’s playing so well. He still needs to get stronger and things like that, but he’s a big man. When he plays square and gets great reads, he’s a really good football player.”
Potter had one key play in Nebraska’s 20-17 victory Saturday at Wake Forest. With the Demon Deacons facing a second-and-goal from the 5-yard line in the first quarter, Potter broke through and tackled Kevin Harris for a 2-yard loss.
That was one of three straight runs for negative yardage, forcing Wake Forest to kick a game-tying field goal.
“He’s come to an understanding of his size and how to use it well,” said Nebraska tight end J.B. Phillips, who’s faced Potter in practice. “I think one of the biggest things with the D-ends is them understanding techniques, them understanding gap assignments and things like that.
“Especially from a tight end’s standpoint, you can really take advantage of their miscues, just the angles you have. But the more the (defensive) end understands, the harder it is. The better he can read off the ball, I can’t get away with things that I might be able to.
“It’s knowing what’s going to happen before it happens. You can see that transpire as he’s gone through practice and gone through games. He’s confident. He knows what to do.”
Cosgrove said coaches have stressed the importance of backups playing with a starter’s mind-set. Potter admits he didn’t have that mind-set while backing up Carriker.
When asked when things began to click for him, Potter responded, “once I knew Carriker was gone.”
That’s when Potter went to work — especially in the weight room.
“In high school, I didn’t really work out, and my freshman and sophomore year, I worked out, but I didn’t really dedicate myself the way I probably should’ve,” Potter said. “I really did that in winter conditioning and over the summer, and it’s really paying off now.”
Reach Brian Rosenthal at 473-7436 or brosenthal@journalstar.com.
He started to respond, then laughed.
Perhaps, Potter said, the fact he’s on the field is his biggest improvement.
“I’ve already made as many tackles this season,” Potter said, “as I made my first two years.”
That’s true. Potter, a junior from Omaha, has seven tackles in two games. He combined for four tackles through his freshman and sophomore seasons.
In fact, Potter had more blocked kicks (two) than tackles (one) as a freshman.
While those blocks were pivotal plays in close Nebraska victories — against Pittsburgh and Kansas State — Potter prefers the every-down role he now assumes with the Blackshirts.
“Getting in a rhythm,” Potter said, “really helps me out.”
Finding such a rhythm, however, is pretty difficult when you’re playing behind a first-round NFL Draft pick.
“Just being the guy he was, I mean, I wasn’t going to get the reps,” Potter said, referring to three-year starting defensive end Adam Carriker.
“You look at the reps I got my freshman and sophomore years, I wasn’t getting anywhere near the reps I’m getting now.”
Keep in mind, though, that Potter isn’t starting simply because Carriker is gone. Seems that Potter responded well to an offseason pep talk from coaches, who implored their untested defensive end to pick things up a notch.
Was it an encouraging speech? A kick-in-the-rear-end speech?
“It was a little of everything,” Potter said. “They basically said I had to step up, that it’s my position to lose now. They told me I had to get stronger, which I did. Keep getting better at technique.
“Spring ball really helped me with technique, just going up against guys like Carl (Nicks) and Lydon (Murtha). I really hadn’t gotten that many reps against them. I mainly went against the twos. Getting reps against them really helped me improve a lot.”
Nebraska defensive coordinator Kevin Cosgrove said he saw “tremendous improvement” from Potter in the spring.
The compliments don’t seem to be hallow, either.
“He plays about as square and good a base as we’ve had in a long time,” Cosgrove said. “That’s why he’s playing so well. He still needs to get stronger and things like that, but he’s a big man. When he plays square and gets great reads, he’s a really good football player.”
Potter had one key play in Nebraska’s 20-17 victory Saturday at Wake Forest. With the Demon Deacons facing a second-and-goal from the 5-yard line in the first quarter, Potter broke through and tackled Kevin Harris for a 2-yard loss.
That was one of three straight runs for negative yardage, forcing Wake Forest to kick a game-tying field goal.
“He’s come to an understanding of his size and how to use it well,” said Nebraska tight end J.B. Phillips, who’s faced Potter in practice. “I think one of the biggest things with the D-ends is them understanding techniques, them understanding gap assignments and things like that.
“Especially from a tight end’s standpoint, you can really take advantage of their miscues, just the angles you have. But the more the (defensive) end understands, the harder it is. The better he can read off the ball, I can’t get away with things that I might be able to.
“It’s knowing what’s going to happen before it happens. You can see that transpire as he’s gone through practice and gone through games. He’s confident. He knows what to do.”
Cosgrove said coaches have stressed the importance of backups playing with a starter’s mind-set. Potter admits he didn’t have that mind-set while backing up Carriker.
When asked when things began to click for him, Potter responded, “once I knew Carriker was gone.”
That’s when Potter went to work — especially in the weight room.
“In high school, I didn’t really work out, and my freshman and sophomore year, I worked out, but I didn’t really dedicate myself the way I probably should’ve,” Potter said. “I really did that in winter conditioning and over the summer, and it’s really paying off now.”
Reach Brian Rosenthal at 473-7436 or brosenthal@journalstar.com.
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