The Redemption of B.T. Potter

LOUISVILLE — Clemson kicker B.T. Potter went from the outhouse to the penthouse in the course of a week.

Two Saturdays ago, Potter found himself on the wrong end of head coach Dabo Swinney's ire, as he missed a 24-yard field goal against Florida State and was not prepared to even take the field — causing the Tigers to use a timeout.

"He's second team. That's just the way it is. Everybody's got a job to do," head coach Dabo Swinney said. "He's done an amazing job as a kickoff guy. He's done an awesome job in practice. He had a great camp, unbelievable camp. Now he did get a little, he had a little groin pull a couple weeks ago and we limited him a little bit. He's just missed two easy ones in a row. It's not like we're out there kicking 50 yarders. He's missed two easy layups in a row and we've got to make the layups. If you don't make the layups, you've got to give somebody else an opportunity. You've got to be fair."

But a week after losing his job to graduate Steven Sawicki, Potter bounced back in a huge way in the Tigers' 45-10 win over the Louisville Cardinals.

Potter stepped on the field in the Tigers' opening drive and calmly drilled a 51-yard field goal.

"How about old Potter, he's had a tough week," Swinney said. "And so, everybody needs a little sugar every now and then. And I'm really proud of him. And it's just his mindset."

That mindset was aided by losing his job, which caused Potter to kick angry.

Which is exactly what Swinney wanted to see.

"That's why sometimes we all need our butts kicked every now and then to just kind of refocus a little bit," Swinney said. "And it was great to see him go out there. And he wasn't going out there. He went out there mad. He went out there to nail it and he did. And it was just awesome. No doubt. And it's just his mindset. So really proud of him and it's just kind of cool to see him respond the way he did and hopefully that'll get him back on track."

While Swinney would not go so far as to say that Potter had officially won his job back from Sawicki, he admitted that whoever goes out to kick for the Tigers is going to be on a very short leash.

"I mean, it's a short term contract. It's just is what it is, man," Swinney said. "But so just threw Potter back in there. We just keep on rolling. Keep on rolling."