University of Massachusets Athletics

Hoping to Make Most of Senior Year

Hoping to Make Most of Senior Year As the only senior starter on the Minuteman defense, Potter knows that this is the year to shine.



Sept. 23, 2002

Corey Potter has been on a winning team his whole life. After all, he comes from one of the most prestigious high school football programs in the entire country.

So one shouldn't be surprised when Potter says that this year's Minuteman football team is going to be a squad to be reckoned with down the road.

?We have so much talent on this team,? said Potter. ?It's just a matter of it all coming together and putting it on the line every time on the field.?

When Potter says that this team is going to be successful, you should believe him.

Potter played his high school ball at Central Bucks West High School in Doylestown, Pa. All the team did his senior year was go 15-0, win the state championship and finish the season ranked No. 4 in the USA Today Super 25 High School rankings. He played under legendary coach Mike Pettine, with current Minuteman Greg Ward and the program has been so successful that it was featured on ESPN's ?The Season? last year, along with its rivals, North Penn High School.

?I didn't see a whole lot of the shows, but I knew that they were doing it,? said Potter. ?My little brother is on the team, and he said it was pretty exciting to go through that experience.?

While at Central Bucks West, Potter earned All-State defensive back honors by the Associated Press. He was also a First Team All-Philadelphia Area and All-Suburban I Power 10 League selection during his senior season. Potter had 81 tackles with three interceptions on defense. But he may have made even a bigger impact on offense. As a quarterback, he ran for 1,090 yards and 13 touchdowns and threw for 718 yards and seven touchdowns.

He made an immediate impact as a redshirt freshman in 1999. Potter played in 11 games, starting in six of them. He was ninth on the team with 46 tackles and contributed four sacks and two interceptions. The 1999 team is also the last UMass football team to make the playoffs.

?It has been really hard on me the last two years, not making the playoffs after making it my freshman year,? said Potter. ?It was really frustrating. We knew we could do it, but we just didn't get the breaks.?

During the last two seasons, Potter has started in 20 of 22 possible games, and has missed only one game, due to an injury. He has 117 tackles during the last two seasons. During it all, Potter has been on the Athletic Director's Honor Roll every semester.

But Potter has taken on a new roll this fall, as he was named a team captain before the season started. It's a role that Potter cherishes.

?I think it says a lot about a person and the way people see you,? commented Potter. ?I had great captains when I was a freshman and I learned a lot from them. I am just trying to be as good of a captain to the freshman as they were to me.?

Potter has a tough role as a captain. The Minuteman defense is extremely young, with 10 freshmen and sophomores on the two-deep depth chart. Potter is the only senior starter. Despite the inexperience, Potter sees nothing but great things for the defense.

?We are young and we're learning as we go,? said Potter. ?But we have incredible athletes on the defense, who are going to fly around and make some plays. We step up when we need to.?

Potter has stepped up already on the playing field this year. Through two games, he is third on the team in tackles with 15, has four tackles for loss, two sacks and recorded his first interception on the season in the 42-13 win over American International College. He knows that he is going to need more performances like that to lead UMass back into the playoffs.

?It's going to be a tough road to get back,? added Potter. ?The Atlantic 10 is the toughest conference in America and anyone can beat anyone on any given day. You have to play every day in this league or else you'll get beat.?

As far as team goals, Potter has one in general.

?We want to be playing in December,? said Potter. ?I like our chances. The offense is as good as it has been since I've been here and our defense will only get better with every game. If we can avoid silly mistakes and stay away from serious injuries, we'll be fine.?

As much success as Corey Potter has been through in football, there should be no reason to doubt him.