Glory and Gore

[Cheese2121]

Another great read. You have some really good storylines going here. I will be interested to see in what direction you take it.

[thesportsguru11]

Like the concept, stories have been good so far. In as usual, djp.

[djp73]

SEAVER SQUARES UP FOR A TACKLE
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"I would have never believed it back then but looking back from here it was a blessing.”

Eastern Washington linebacker Bryan Seaver is describing a dropped pass that occurred toward the end of a 45-42 loss to Sam Houston State on December 15th 2012. It was the FCS semifinals.

That was the last pass Seaver ever dropped.

After playing sparingly as a freshman Seaver was the team’s third option at wide receiver in 2012 as a sophomore. Midway through the season he was replaced in the starting lineup due to a number of dropped passes. That was the primary issue that had kept the bigger schools from seriously recruiting him.

“That was a real tough thing, getting benched.” Seaver tells me. “Like I said though, looking back…” He smiles and trails off.

Late in the season, during a 31-28 win over UC Davis the Eagles lost a pair of their receivers to injury, forcing Seaver back into the lineup. He was serviceable for the rest of the season, catching a handful off passes and even a pair of touchdowns. He dropped a few along the way but nothing like his issues earlier in the season.

Enter the FCS semifinal. Sam Houston had jumped out to a 35-0 halftime lead, prompting a change at QB for Eastern Washington entering the second half. Seaver had dropped a potential touchdown in the second quarter but given the team’s overall struggles it didn’t particularly stand out.

Backup QB Vernon Adams connected with three different receivers for touchdowns in the third quarter, making the score 35-21 Sam Houston as the defense shut out the Bearkats for the quarter.

Adams threw a fourth touchdown early in the fourth quarter to make it a seven point game. The Bearkats answered to make it 42-28 with just under 11 minutes left in the game.

Adams connected on his fifth touchdown just over a minute later. 42-35 Sam Houston.

The Eastern Washington defense held to force a field goal and with five and a half minutes to play it was 45-35 Sam Houston.

Adams did it again, cutting the lead to 45-42 with three minutes left to play.

Sam Houston went three and out quickly and punted.

Adams went to work, getting the Eagles offense inside the Sam Houston 30 in three plays. With just under two minutes to play Adams scrambled out of bounds at the 21. After an incompletion it was third and two and a run by Quincy Forte was stuffed for no gain.

On fourth and two from the Sam Houston 21 Adams took the shotgun snap and faked a screen to his left outside receiver, the pump fake worked to perfection and Adams lofted a perfect pass to the right side of the endzone. Right to a wide open Seaver.

“I looked it in and I thought ‘This is it, we’re gonna win this.’ I don’t know how I missed that one.” Bryan says, shaking his head and holding out his hands, mimicking the botched catch.

As the ball bounced off his hands and onto the turf, Seaver, Adams and head coach Beau Baldwin all simultaneously hit their knees. That was it, game over.

“That was a real long offseason for me. Real tough. I considered leaving the team, going back home and being done with football. It ate me up.”

A phone call from Coach Baldwin in early March convinced Seaver to come back.

“I just told him he was a great ballplayer and that we needed him back. I told him we could fix it. We’d find a way.”

“That call from coach was huge, I needed that.”

Throughout the first two games of the season the team worked Seaver in at receiver sparingly and used him in the backfield some. He played every special teams snap in the first two games.

Then, early in a loss at Toledo one play changed the course of his career forever. On a pass play over the middle two of Eastern Washington’s starting linebackers collided helmet to helmet and had to leave the game. Already thin at the position coach Baldwin was desperate.

“I looked around the sidelines for someone to throw out there. Then I saw Bryan.”

“Coach called me over and said ‘What do you know about linebacker?’ I told him I could do it. I didn’t have a clue but I wanted to play.”

With help from the rest of the defense Seaver played the position very well.

“We just called the play then told him what to do. We kept it real basic for him.” Defensive back Allen Brown explains. “Like pee wee stuff.”

“Al would be like ‘ok cover so and so’ or ‘go get the qb’. I’m not sure how it looked to everyone else but I thought I did good.”

After a crash course in linebacker 101 the next week in practice Seaver was thrown into the starting lineup at the team’s version of middle linebacker and he stayed there for the rest of the season. In 12 starts he racked up 58 tackles, three sacks and four interceptions.

“He just got it done, down the stretch he was my best linebacker.” Baldwin said after the season ended with a 31-35 loss to Towson in the semifinals.

“We asked him if he wanted to stay at linebacker and he was all for it. We’re all excited about it. He should have a great season.”

Seaver certainly doesn’t look the part of a linebacker.

“Six foot.” He tries to convince me. A look of disbelief brings out the honest answer. “Ok, five ten.” He admits.

I ask him his weight.

“It’s not the size of the dog in the fight.” He says with a smirk.

For the record, Bryan was listed at five foot nine and 197 pounds on the official 2013 roster.

“We’re not too worried about his size, though we did ask him try and to bulk up some.” Linebackers coach Josh Fretter says. “I think he put on fifteen pounds or so. It’s not a big concern for us, he hits like he’s 250.”

Let’s see if the fight in this dog is big enough to get some attention at the NFL level come spring of 2015.

[djp73]

Quote: Originally Posted by cheese2121

Another great read. You have some really good storylines going here. I will be interested to see in what direction you take it.

thanks man, should be a fun ride

[djp73]

POTTER READIES TO DELIVER A PASS
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In a top heavy but otherwise thin upcoming quarterback draft class David Potter could very well be at the top.

That is, if this was the 2007 season and not the 2014 season.

Potter was one of the top college quarterback prospects entering his senior year at Robert E. Lee High in Midland, Texas in 2002. Back then David was thought of as pretty much a sure thing to accept a scholarship to Texas to play quarterback for Mack Brown and then head to the NFL. That wasn’t exactly the path he had in mind.

Potter was also a standout baseball player, starring for Lee at first and third base. He was a four year varsity starter and one of the highest rated prospects in the country. The Tampa Bay Rays drafted him in the second round of the 2003 MLB draft and he jumped at the opportunity, and the money.

“That’s a lot of money at 17, 18 years old. It would have been hard to pass up.” He explains. “I knew I loved football more but I felt like baseball was here now and it maybe was an easier path.”

After six years in the Rays’ minor league system David woke up one day and decided he wanted to play football.

“It wasn’t like this long, agonizing decision making process.” He told me. “I just like woke up one day in Durham and was like ‘I don’t think this is for me anymore, I want to play football again.”

David approached the front office and asked to be released. The Rays granted his release and wished him luck. He headed back home to Midland.

”I got home and I was like OK, now what?”

Potter began working out at his old high school and it didn’t take long for that question to be answered. Tommy Tuberville, head coach at Texas Tech came calling and offered the scholarship that Mike Leach had way back in 2003.

“It was kind of surreal, I mean I expected to play at a small school and see what happened.”

After two solid years under Tuberville, Potter had a breakout campaign last season under new head coach Kliff Kingsbury. Now, as a 29 year old senior Potter enters his senior season in the midst of Heisman talk and is a projected fourth round pick in the 2015 NFL Draft.

You have to wonder if after six years of playing baseball all over the country in the minors Potter has any regrets that he didn’t pursue a football career right out of high school.

“It’s hard to regret something like that. I mean, I learned so much. About myself, about the world of professional sports. About the world really. It’s been a really valuable life experience. I enjoyed my time with baseball but when that time was up it was up. No regrets about it.”

Had Potter decided to stick with baseball he likely would have found himself in the majors shortly after the time when he decided to instead walk away. His career trajectory was pointing to the sky.

“David had a very good shot at making the major league roster the following season.” Former Rays Manager Joe Maddon told me. “David worked harder than anyone and he had all the tools to be a great baseball player. We had him penciled in as our starting first baseman for 2010.”

Instead Potter found himself as a 26 year old freshman at Texas Tech.

“It’s had some strange moments, lot’s of kids asked me to buy them beer.” Potter says with a laugh. “The kids on the team were always asking me to go to parties and stuff, they don’t do that anymore.”

Potter’s age isn’t the only reason he chooses to stay in when “the kids” go out.

“Lilly and Landon.” He says with a huge smile as he pulls out a picture of his family from his wallet.

There are a lot of college seniors with children. There aren’t many who have been married for nine years and a father for almost as long.

David and Lilly met in 2004 in Charleston, South Carolina. David was playing for the Charleston RiverDogs, Tampa Bay’s single A affiliate at the time. Lilly worked in the team’s public relations department.

“It wasn’t one of those love at first sight deals. I had to chase her.” David divulges with a smirk.

Davis was one of the top prospects in the Rays system at the time and Lilly was assigned to interview him for the teams yearbook. After the interview David asked her to go on a date.

“I don’t date ballplayers.” Was her curt reply. “You could be on the other side of the country tomorrow.” She explained.

It wasn’t exactly tomorrow but Davis was in Visalia, California the next season, playing for the double A Oaks. Lilly was right there with him.

“I didn’t give up. Finally I got her to go on a date with me, after that we were inseparable.

When David found out he was going west out of camp in 2005 Lilly didn’t hesitate to say she would go. Shortly after arriving in Visalia they found out about Landon.

“It was a big surprise for us. We knew our lives would be changed forever but we were both incredibly happy.”

David and Lilly were married in a small ceremony on April 12th, 2005. Landon arrived November 12th.

“Both of the greatest things that have happened in my life were on the twelfth, it made picking my number easy.” He says as he points to the number 12 on the front of his jersey.

“Lilly’s my rock. There was some really tough times when I was playing baseball. Wondering if I could even make it. She’s always been my number one fan. When I decided I didn’t want to play baseball anymore she was 100% supportive. I mean here we are with a four year old and I’m saying I want to give up a steady paycheck and chase a football career at 26. Luckily I was smart with my signing bonus and we were alright. I wouldn’t be where I am today without here, no doubt.”

“David’s been great.” Second year Texas tech head coach Kliff Kingsbury says. “It’s like having a coach in the huddle every play. He processes stuff very quickly and knows what adjustments need to be made. A lot of times he’s ahead of us coaches on what needs to happen.”

Potter will have to adjust to the loss of his two favorite targets in tight end Jace Amaro and wide receiver Eric Ward. Adjusting on the fly has never been a problem for Potter though and this should be no different. Should David have a solid senior campaign at Texas Tech he could see himself drafted on day one or two of the NFL draft next May.

“We like him, if we see enough out of him this year we would certainly take him in the right spot.” One NFL personnel man told me.

Even though David Potter is 29.

[djp73]

Quote: Originally Posted by thesportsguru11

Like the concept, stories have been good so far. In as usual, djp.

really wanted to do something i hadnt seen before, hopefully it works
thanks for checking in, appreciate it

[Cheese2121]

Nice piece on Potter. Hopefully he is not the next Weeden. Great writing.

[djp73]

Quote: Originally Posted by cheese2121

Nice piece on Potter. Hopefully he is not the next Weeden. Great writing.

thanks bud, appreciate the compliments