Taylor Potts
Encyclopedia
Taylor Potts is an American football
quarterback
who is currently a free agent
. He was signed by the St. Louis Rams
as an undrafted free agent in 2011. He played college football for the Texas Tech Red Raiders football
team.
Potts served as a backup for nationally renowned quarterback Graham Harrell
and took over the starting role for the 2009 season.
, Potts played at Abilene High School
in Abilene, Texas
. In his senior season, Potts threw for 3,162 yards and 53 touchdowns and garnered Class 5A Region and All-State teams. In addition to Texas Tech, Potts was recruited by Michigan
, Baylor
, Notre Dame
, Oklahoma
, Texas
, and Texas A&M
.
. In his first game against the North Dakota Fighting Sioux, he completed 34 of 48 passes for 405 yards 2 touchdowns passing and 2 on the ground, and threw three interceptions in a 38-13 win. The next week against the Rice Owls, Potts threw 7 touchdowns and no interceptions in 55-10 blowout win. For his performance he was named Big 12 Offensive player of the week. The next week, Potts played his best game to date as he faced off against # 2 Texas Longhorns led by Colt McCoy. Potts started slow but ended up with 46 completions out of 62 attempts for 420 yards, 3 touchdowns and an interception. Potts took a vicious hit from Texas Defensive End Sergio Kindle that caused a turnover that in effect sealed the close win for the Longhorns, but got back up to throw his third touchdown of the game to Tramain Swindall. Despite losing 34-24, pundits noted that Potts outplayed McCoy with better numbers, and going into a hostile environment against a top 2 team and taking a vicious hit in the process. Tech fans were optimistic after the Texas game, however a shocking 29-28 loss to the Houston Cougars in which the Texas Tech offense failed to convert on fourth and goal from inside the one led to the Houston victory. Critics blamed Potts' inability to use his 6'6 frame to punch the ball in and seal the victory. In the next game against the New Mexico Lobos, Potts started slow and was knocked out with a Concussion. With the game tied at 7 with a minute left, back-up Steven Sheffield came in and scored to give the Raiders the lead en route to a 48-28 win. Potts was taken to the hospital and sat out the next 2 games, as Sheffield led Tech to blowout wins over Kansas State and Nebraska 66-14, and 31-10, respectively. Potts found himself back as the starter against the Texas A&M Aggies as Sheffield broke his foot against Nebraska. Potts played poorly and was benched by Leach and was replaced Seth Doege to the chants from the crowd of "No more Potts." Tech lost to A&M 52-30. Doege started the next game against the Kansas Jayhawks but was largely ineffective and Potts led the Raiders to a 42-21 win off the strength of the ground game. Potts had a fairly effective game despite a loss to Oklahoma State, 24-17 in the next game. Potts delivered his biggest win to date, a 41-13 drubbing of the Oklahoma Sooners and finished the season with a 20-13 win over the Baylor Bears, giving Tech a 8-4 overall record and 5-3 in Big 12 play. Taylor Potts is commonly known around Tech campus as "The Cannon."
and offensive coordinator Neal Brown. Potts suffered a hand injury in spring 2010 workouts and missed the spring Red-Black scrimmage. However, he was named the starter for Tech's season opener against SMU. Potts threw for 359 yards, completing 34 of 53 passes, in Tech's win over SMU. Potts started every game for Tech during the season except for the Nov. 6 game against No. 14 Missouri. Sheffield started the Missouri game, but Potts came in shortly before halftime and led Tech to a 24-17 upset win over the Tigers. Potts was named the AT&T/ESPN All-America Player of the Week after passing for a Cotton Bowl-record 462 yards in Tech's 45-38 win over Baylor on Oct. 9. In his final home game, against Houston on Nov. 27, Potts threw for 373 yards in a 35-20 win over the Cougars. For the season, Potts finished with 3,726 passing yards, completing 369 of 551 passes (67.0 percent) with 35 touchdowns and 10 interceptions. He finished his final season as Tech's fourth-ranked all-time leader in passing yards (7,835) and the school's third-ranked all-time leader in touchdown passes thrown with 62.
and was later signed by the St. Louis Rams
on July 26, 2011, but was waived on August 15.
. As of 2011, Potts was engaged to Erin Methvin, alumna of Lubbock Christian University
.
American football
American football is a sport played between two teams of eleven with the objective of scoring points by advancing the ball into the opposing team's end zone. Known in the United States simply as football, it may also be referred to informally as gridiron football. The ball can be advanced by...
quarterback
Quarterback
Quarterback is a position in American and Canadian football. Quarterbacks are members of the offensive team and line up directly behind the offensive line...
who is currently a free agent
Free agent
In professional sports, a free agent is a player whose contract with a team has expired and who is thus eligible to sign with another club or franchise....
. He was signed by the St. Louis Rams
St. Louis Rams
The St. Louis Rams are a professional American football team based in St. Louis, Missouri. They are currently members of the West Division of the National Football Conference in the National Football League . The Rams have won three NFL Championships .The Rams began playing in 1936 in Cleveland,...
as an undrafted free agent in 2011. He played college football for the Texas Tech Red Raiders football
Texas Tech Red Raiders football
Texas Tech Red Raiders football program is a college football team that represents Texas Tech University . The team competes, as a member of the Big 12 Conference, which is a Division I Bowl Subdivision of the National Collegiate Athletic Association...
team.
Potts served as a backup for nationally renowned quarterback Graham Harrell
Graham Harrell
Graham Harrell is an American football quarterback. He was signed by the Green Bay Packers and is currently on their scout team. He played college football at Texas Tech.-Early years:...
and took over the starting role for the 2009 season.
Early years
Prior to coming to Texas TechTexas Tech University
Texas Tech University, often referred to as Texas Tech or TTU, is a public research university in Lubbock, Texas, United States. Established on February 10, 1923, and originally known as Texas Technological College, it is the leading institution of the Texas Tech University System and has the...
, Potts played at Abilene High School
Abilene High School (Abilene, Texas)
Abilene High School is a public high school located in Abilene, Texas and is part of the Abilene Independent School District. Abilene High School is the name given to three different schools in the past 150 years. The first Abilene High was an old warehouse. Not long after that, the school was...
in Abilene, Texas
Abilene, Texas
Abilene is a city in Taylor and Jones counties in west central Texas. The population was 117,063 at the 2010 census. It is the principal city of the Abilene Metropolitan Statistical Area, which had a 2006 estimated population of 158,063. It is the county seat of Taylor County...
. In his senior season, Potts threw for 3,162 yards and 53 touchdowns and garnered Class 5A Region and All-State teams. In addition to Texas Tech, Potts was recruited by Michigan
Michigan Wolverines football
The Michigan Wolverines football program represents the University of Michigan in college football at the NCAA Division I Football Bowl Subdivision level. Michigan has the most all-time wins and the highest winning percentage in college football history...
, Baylor
Baylor Bears football
The Baylor Bears football team represents Baylor University in Division I FBS college football. They are a member of the Big 12 Conference. The team plays its home games at Floyd Casey Stadium in Waco, Texas.-History:...
, Notre Dame
Notre Dame Fighting Irish football
Notre Dame Fighting Irish football team is the football team of the University of Notre Dame. The team is currently coached by Brian Kelly.Notre Dame competes as an Independent at the NCAA Football Bowl Subdivision level, and is a founding member of the Bowl Championship Series coalition. It is an...
, Oklahoma
Oklahoma Sooners football
The Oklahoma Sooners football program is a college football team that represents the University of Oklahoma . The team is currently a member of the Big 12 Conference, which is a Division I Bowl Subdivision of the National Collegiate Athletic Association...
, Texas
Texas Longhorns football
The Texas Longhorns football program is the intercollegiate football team representing The University of Texas at Austin, Austin, Texas. The team currently competes in the NCAA Football Bowl Subdivision as a member of the Big 12 Conference which is a Division I Bowl Subdivision of the National...
, and Texas A&M
Texas A&M Aggies football
The Texas A&M Aggies football team represents Texas A&M University in college football. The Aggies have competed in the Big 12 Conference since the conference's inception in 1996. They will join the Southeastern Conference in July 2012. Texas A&M football has earned one national title and 18...
.
College career
Potts spent his 2006 freshman season as a "redshirt," seeing no game action but working as a member of the scout team. He then served as a backup to Graham Harrell for the 2007 and 2008 seasons, seeing limited playing time in several Tech blowout victories. In those two seasons, he compiled 669 yards passing, 5 touchdowns, and 2 interceptions.2009 season
Potts was named Harrell's heir apparent and starter by Mike Leach in April 2009. Potts beat out classmate and former walk on Steven Sheffield and highly touted Redshirt Freshman Seth DoegeSeth Doege
Seth Doege is an American football quarterback. He is currently the starting quarterback for the 2011 Texas Tech Red Raiders football team...
. In his first game against the North Dakota Fighting Sioux, he completed 34 of 48 passes for 405 yards 2 touchdowns passing and 2 on the ground, and threw three interceptions in a 38-13 win. The next week against the Rice Owls, Potts threw 7 touchdowns and no interceptions in 55-10 blowout win. For his performance he was named Big 12 Offensive player of the week. The next week, Potts played his best game to date as he faced off against # 2 Texas Longhorns led by Colt McCoy. Potts started slow but ended up with 46 completions out of 62 attempts for 420 yards, 3 touchdowns and an interception. Potts took a vicious hit from Texas Defensive End Sergio Kindle that caused a turnover that in effect sealed the close win for the Longhorns, but got back up to throw his third touchdown of the game to Tramain Swindall. Despite losing 34-24, pundits noted that Potts outplayed McCoy with better numbers, and going into a hostile environment against a top 2 team and taking a vicious hit in the process. Tech fans were optimistic after the Texas game, however a shocking 29-28 loss to the Houston Cougars in which the Texas Tech offense failed to convert on fourth and goal from inside the one led to the Houston victory. Critics blamed Potts' inability to use his 6'6 frame to punch the ball in and seal the victory. In the next game against the New Mexico Lobos, Potts started slow and was knocked out with a Concussion. With the game tied at 7 with a minute left, back-up Steven Sheffield came in and scored to give the Raiders the lead en route to a 48-28 win. Potts was taken to the hospital and sat out the next 2 games, as Sheffield led Tech to blowout wins over Kansas State and Nebraska 66-14, and 31-10, respectively. Potts found himself back as the starter against the Texas A&M Aggies as Sheffield broke his foot against Nebraska. Potts played poorly and was benched by Leach and was replaced Seth Doege to the chants from the crowd of "No more Potts." Tech lost to A&M 52-30. Doege started the next game against the Kansas Jayhawks but was largely ineffective and Potts led the Raiders to a 42-21 win off the strength of the ground game. Potts had a fairly effective game despite a loss to Oklahoma State, 24-17 in the next game. Potts delivered his biggest win to date, a 41-13 drubbing of the Oklahoma Sooners and finished the season with a 20-13 win over the Baylor Bears, giving Tech a 8-4 overall record and 5-3 in Big 12 play. Taylor Potts is commonly known around Tech campus as "The Cannon."
2009 Alamo Bowl
Tech was invited to the Alamo Bowl to play against Michigan State. Potts was given the start in the Alamo Bowl, despite a healthy Steve Sheffield. Potts was effective for most of the game, but was pulled late in the 4th quarter by the interim staff, as Mike Leach had been fired earlier in the week. With Tech behind, Sheffield rallied Tech to two late scores to beat the Spartans 41-31. Potts was named offensive MVP with 29-43 passing for 372 yards and 2 touchdowns.2010 season
After battling against Steven Sheffield for the starting quarterback job in spring and summer practices, Potts was named the starter for the 2010 season under new Red Raider head coach Tommy TubervilleTommy Tuberville
Thomas Hawley Tuberville is an American football coach and former player. He is currently the head football coach at Texas Tech University, a position he has held since the 2010 season...
and offensive coordinator Neal Brown. Potts suffered a hand injury in spring 2010 workouts and missed the spring Red-Black scrimmage. However, he was named the starter for Tech's season opener against SMU. Potts threw for 359 yards, completing 34 of 53 passes, in Tech's win over SMU. Potts started every game for Tech during the season except for the Nov. 6 game against No. 14 Missouri. Sheffield started the Missouri game, but Potts came in shortly before halftime and led Tech to a 24-17 upset win over the Tigers. Potts was named the AT&T/ESPN All-America Player of the Week after passing for a Cotton Bowl-record 462 yards in Tech's 45-38 win over Baylor on Oct. 9. In his final home game, against Houston on Nov. 27, Potts threw for 373 yards in a 35-20 win over the Cougars. For the season, Potts finished with 3,726 passing yards, completing 369 of 551 passes (67.0 percent) with 35 touchdowns and 10 interceptions. He finished his final season as Tech's fourth-ranked all-time leader in passing yards (7,835) and the school's third-ranked all-time leader in touchdown passes thrown with 62.
2011 TicketCity Bowl
Texas Tech faced Northwestern in the inaugural TicketCity Bowl, played on Jan. 1, 2011, in the historic Cotton Bowl stadium. Potts threw for 369 yards, completing 43 of 56 passes in Tech's 45-38 win over the Wildcats. Potts connected with former high school teammate Lyle Leong Jr. for two touchdown and also had scoring passes to Austin Zouzalik and Tramain Swindall. Potts also scored one touchdown on a perfectly executed trick play, a double pass from Potts to Zouzalik and back to Potts. For his efforts, Potts was named offensive Most Valuable Player for the game.College stats
| Year | Team | Attempts | Completions | Completion % | Yards | TDs | INT |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2006 2006 Texas Tech Red Raiders football team The 2006 Texas Tech Red Raiders football team represented Texas Tech University in the college football season of 2006–2007. The team was coached by Mike Leach. The Red Raiders played their home games at Jones SBC Stadium in Lubbock, Texas.... |
Texas Tech Texas Tech University Texas Tech University, often referred to as Texas Tech or TTU, is a public research university in Lubbock, Texas, United States. Established on February 10, 1923, and originally known as Texas Technological College, it is the leading institution of the Texas Tech University System and has the... |
|
|||||
| 2007 2007 Texas Tech Red Raiders football team The 2007 Texas Tech Red Raiders football team represented Texas Tech University in the college football season of 2007–2008. The team was coached by Mike Leach... |
Texas Tech Texas Tech University Texas Tech University, often referred to as Texas Tech or TTU, is a public research university in Lubbock, Texas, United States. Established on February 10, 1923, and originally known as Texas Technological College, it is the leading institution of the Texas Tech University System and has the... |
49 | 32 | 65.3% | 409 | 3 | 1 |
| 2008 2008 Texas Tech Red Raiders football team The 2008 Texas Tech Red Raiders football team represented Texas Tech University in the college football season of 2008/09. The team was coached by Mike Leach. The Red Raiders played their home games at Jones AT&T Stadium in Lubbock, Texas. The football team competed in the Division I Football Bowl... |
Texas Tech Texas Tech University Texas Tech University, often referred to as Texas Tech or TTU, is a public research university in Lubbock, Texas, United States. Established on February 10, 1923, and originally known as Texas Technological College, it is the leading institution of the Texas Tech University System and has the... |
36 | 23 | 63.9% | 260 | 2 | 1 |
| 2009 2009 Texas Tech Red Raiders football team The 2009 Texas Tech Red Raiders football team represented Texas Tech University in the college football season of 2009–10. The team was coached by Mike Leach during the regular season, and was coached by interim head coach Ruffin McNeill during the 2010 Valero Alamo Bowl. The Red Raiders played... |
Texas Tech Texas Tech University Texas Tech University, often referred to as Texas Tech or TTU, is a public research university in Lubbock, Texas, United States. Established on February 10, 1923, and originally known as Texas Technological College, it is the leading institution of the Texas Tech University System and has the... |
470 | 309 | 65.7% | 3,440 | 22 | 13 |
| 2010 2010 Texas Tech Red Raiders football team The 2010 Texas Tech Red Raiders football team represented Texas Tech University in the 2010 NCAA Division I FBS football season. The team was coached by first-year head coach Tommy Tuberville and played its home games at Jones AT&T Stadium. They were members of the South Division of the Big 12... |
Texas Tech Texas Tech University Texas Tech University, often referred to as Texas Tech or TTU, is a public research university in Lubbock, Texas, United States. Established on February 10, 1923, and originally known as Texas Technological College, it is the leading institution of the Texas Tech University System and has the... |
551 | 369 | 67.0% | 3,726 | 35 | 10 |
| College Totals | 1,106 | 733 | 66.3% | 7,835 | 62 | 25 | |
St. Louis Rams
Potts went undrafted in the 2011 NFL Draft2011 NFL Draft
The 2011 NFL Draft was the 76th installment of the annual NFL Draft, where the franchises of the National Football League select newly eligible football players...
and was later signed by the St. Louis Rams
St. Louis Rams
The St. Louis Rams are a professional American football team based in St. Louis, Missouri. They are currently members of the West Division of the National Football Conference in the National Football League . The Rams have won three NFL Championships .The Rams began playing in 1936 in Cleveland,...
on July 26, 2011, but was waived on August 15.
Personal life
Potts is a member of the Churches of Christ. Potts is a RepublicanRepublican Party (United States)
The Republican Party is one of the two major contemporary political parties in the United States, along with the Democratic Party. Founded by anti-slavery expansion activists in 1854, it is often called the GOP . The party's platform generally reflects American conservatism in the U.S...
. As of 2011, Potts was engaged to Erin Methvin, alumna of Lubbock Christian University
Lubbock Christian University
Lubbock Christian University is a private Christian university associated with the Churches of Christ located in Lubbock, Texas, in the United States. It was established in 1957. A fall 2011 count showed 2,038 students enrolled at Lubbock Christian University, of which 422 are graduate students...
.
See also
- 2007 Texas Tech Red Raiders football team2007 Texas Tech Red Raiders football teamThe 2007 Texas Tech Red Raiders football team represented Texas Tech University in the college football season of 2007–2008. The team was coached by Mike Leach...
- 2008 Texas Tech Red Raiders football team2008 Texas Tech Red Raiders football teamThe 2008 Texas Tech Red Raiders football team represented Texas Tech University in the college football season of 2008/09. The team was coached by Mike Leach. The Red Raiders played their home games at Jones AT&T Stadium in Lubbock, Texas. The football team competed in the Division I Football Bowl...
External links
- Player bio at Texas Tech athletics