Zach Potter (born May 4, 1986) is a former

American football American football, referred to simply as football in the United States and Canada and also known as gridiron football, is a team sport played by two teams of eleven players on a rectangular American football field, field with goalposts at e ...

tight end The tight end (TE) is an offense (sports), offensive position in American football, arena football, and Canadian football. It is a hybrid that combines the characteristics and roles of both an offensive lineman and a receiver (football), receiv ...

. He was signed by the

New York Jets The New York Jets are a professional American football team based in the New York metropolitan area. The Jets compete in the National Football League (NFL) as a member of the American Football Conference (AFC) AFC East, East division. The team p ...

as an

undrafted free agent In professional sports, a free agent is a player or manager who is eligible to sign with other clubs or franchises; i.e., not under contract to any specific team. The term is also used in reference to a player who is under a contract at present ...

in 2009. He played

college football College football is gridiron football that is played by teams of amateur Student athlete, student-athletes at universities and colleges. It was through collegiate competition that gridiron football American football in the United States, firs ...

Nebraska Nebraska ( ) is a landlocked U.S. state, state in the Midwestern United States, Midwestern region of the United States. It borders South Dakota to the north; Iowa to the east and Missouri to the southeast, both across the Missouri River; Ka ...

Early life

Potter attended

Creighton Prep High School Creighton may refer to: Places Canada * Creighton, Saskatchewan * Creighton, Simcoe County, Ontario * Creighton Mine, a mine in Greater Sudbury, Ontario * Creighton Mine, Ontario South Africa * Creighton, KwaZulu-Natal United States ...

, Omaha, Nebraska, where he helped the Junior Jays to the Class A state title as a senior. Potter was a two-way player, starring at tight end and defensive end. In helping the school to a 12-1 record in 2004, Potter was All-State both on offense and defense—making 97 tackles, including 48 solo stops and six sacks on defense and catching he caught 24 passes for 501 yards and two touchdowns on offense. Potter also had outstanding numbers as a junior, catching 14 passes for better than 300 yards, including four touchdowns. He made 61 tackles, with 10 sacks and 11 pass breakups. His performance earned Potter First-team All-State honors. Potter also played in basketball, averaging 19 points and 11 rebounds per game as a center, and led the Junior Jays to the Class A state title game as a senior. He was a First-team All-State selection by both of the state's major newspapers in basketball.

College career

At the

University of Nebraska - Lincoln A university () is an educational institution, institution of tertiary education and research which awards academic degrees in several Discipline (academia), academic disciplines. ''University'' is derived from the Latin phrase , which roughly ...

in 2008, Potter finished the year second on the team in tackles for loss (16) and sacks (5.5) and made 47 tackles, had two interceptions and broke up seven passes at the line of scrimmage. Potter was an again an honorable-mention All-

Big 12 The Big 12 Conference is a collegiate athletic conference in the United States. It consists of 16 full-member universities (3 private universities and 13 public universities) in the states of Arizona, Colorado, Florida, Iowa, Kansas, Ohio, Okla ...

selection. In 2007, as a junior, Potter replaced Adam Carriker as Nebraska’s starter. He played in all 12 games with 11 starts. He finished with 45 tackles, with his 11 tackles for loss and 2.5 sacks were second on the team and was an honorable-mention All-Big 12 selection. In 2006, he played in 13 games during his sophomore season, including reserve time at defensive end, as well as special teams action. He made three tackles. Potter was also a regular on both NU’s field goal/PAT and field goal/PAT block units. As a freshman, in 2005, he played in all 12 games as a true freshman, making one tackle. He was a major contributor on special teams, by blocking a field goal in NU’s 7-6 win over Pittsburgh, before blocking a Kansas State PAT in NU’s 27-25 win.

Professional career

New York Jets

The

signed Potter and an undrafted free agent in 2009. He was waived during final cuts on September 5.

Jacksonville Jaguars

Potter was signed to the

practice squad In gridiron football, the practice squad, also called the taxi squad or practice roster, is a group of players signed by a team but not part of their main roster. They serve as extra players during the team's practices, often as part of the scou ...

of the

Jacksonville Jaguars The Jacksonville Jaguars are a professional American football team based in Jacksonville, Florida. The Jaguars compete in the National Football League (NFL) as a member of the American Football Conference (AFC) AFC South, South division. The team ...

on September 17, 2009, and converted into a

. He was promoted to the active roster on December 21. Potter caught his first NFL pass on Week 17 against the

Cleveland Browns The Cleveland Browns are a professional American football team based in Cleveland. The Browns compete in the National Football League (NFL) as a member of the American Football Conference (AFC) AFC North, North division. The team is named after ...

St. Louis Rams

Potter was signed by the

St. Louis Rams The St. Louis Rams were a professional American football team of the National Football League (NFL). They played in St. Louis, Missouri, from 1995 through the 2015 season, before moving back to Los Angeles, California, where the team had played ...

on May 20, 2013. He was released on August 31.

Houston Texans

On February 26, 2014, Potter was signed by the

Houston Texans The Houston Texans are a professional American football team based in Houston. The Texans compete in the National Football League as a member of the American Football Conference (AFC) AFC South, South division. The team plays its home games at N ...

. He was released during final roster cuts on August 29.

References

External links

Jacksonville Jaguars bioSt. Louis Rams bioNebraska Cornhuskers bio
{{DEFAULTSORT:Potter, Zach 1986 births Living people Players of American football from Omaha, Nebraska American football defensive ends American football tight ends Nebraska Cornhuskers football players New York Jets players Jacksonville Jaguars players St. Louis Rams players Houston Texans players 21st-century American sportsmen