While no one will name him a MVP for Clemson football, BT Potter’s role for the Tigers is extremely important in their run to the College Football Playoff.
There are plenty of Clemson football players that play important roles for the team.
We talk a lot about guys like Trevor Lawrence, Christian Wilkins, Travis Etienne, Tee Higgins, Justyn Ross, Clelin Ferrell and Dexter Lawrence. We talk about the secondary and the offensive line.
But one area in which the Tigers have improved immensely this season is on special teams.
A lot of that can be accredited to one man: True-freshman BT Potter.
Potter isn’t the starter at kicker or punter. He did go 5-of-5 on extra points and made his first career field goal last week at Florida State when Greg Huegel suffered a minor injury, but that’s not where he has found his niche so far.
A special talent…
BT Potter has become, in my opinion, one of the best kickoff specialists in the nation. If not, the best.
Potter has had 61 kickoffs and 48 touchbacks. Even on several of his kicks that weren’t touchbacks, the kicks went into the end zone or right at the goal line and the returner elected to take the ball out of the end zone.
His kicking power has been a change of pace for Clemson football.
In recent history, there hasn’t been a guy that could consistently kick the ball through the back of the end zone or into the end zone, for that matter. That’s led to kickoff returns, which have given opposing offenses better field position.
It’s a real asset to a defense to be able to basically guarantee that an opposing offense isn’t going to start past their own 25-yard line.
That’s what BT Potter brings to this team.
It may not light up the stat sheet and it won’t be featured on ESPN, but having a guy that can consistently kick the ball the way that he has is important to a team looking to make a run at the College Football Playoff.