EVANSTON, Ill. – Garbage time isn’t garbage time to players who want to prove themselves. Enter Penn State running back Trey Potts, a Williamsport native and Minnesota transfer looking for an opportunity to take what he learned in the snowy north and make the most of it back home in central Pennsylvania.
There was a pragmatism to Penn State picking up Potts this offseason out the transfer portal. Penn State needed depth, a point that probably wasn’t lost on Potts, knowing that the Nittany Lions already boasted a room with Kaytron Allen and Nick Singleton. And with four years in the Big Ten already under his belt, Potts already brought the experience of a veteran to the table, one less thing to worry about on a roster always undergoing change.
So for the most part, Potts has seen the field in the late stages. Seven carries against Delaware had been the highlight of his contributions early in the season.
But then Potts got in on a trick play against Illinois, throwing a pass to tight end Tyler Warren for a touchdown. And then, in the wake of an injury to Allen during Penn State’s eventual 41-13 win over Northwestern on Saturday, Potts saw the field. And then he saw the end zone, twice: once on a 13-yard scamper in the second quarter to tie the game at 10-10, and then late in regulation on a 30-yard pass from Beau Pribula.
“Trey Potts is a great example,” Penn State coach James Franklin said after the game. “Transfers in here as a senior. Didn’t get a whole lot of reps and a whole lot of burn the first couple of games and just kept a great attitude and kept working. And, when he got opportunities, he maximized them. So, it’s great to see him be able to come in and know that we feel like we got three backs that we can win with in this league.”
For Potts there’s nothing else about the concept of changing programs so late in a career. That’s a risk, because the fact of the matter is nobody is required to be your pal. But then again, there’s always a chance that the new guy on the block makes friends, or is accepted into the fold and suddenly that big change isn’t so scary after all.
And that pays its own dividends.
“It might be harder some places, but this team, they embraced me and welcomed me very early on,” Potts said after the game. “It’s family. So the way I look at it, I’m gonna come in every day with a positive attitude, compete and just set myself up for success for when I get my number called.”
Then again, did Potts ever imagine that change would see him catch, pass and rush for a touchdown all in the span of a few weeks?
“Not at all,” Potts said with a laugh. “But at the same time, you know, I’m just playing my role and whatever the coaches believe in me I’m gonna go out there and just complete the mission that they want.”
Watching him play, it was hard to ignore how Potts ran with the ball in the so-called garbage time. Potts has a bounce to his game and a quickness into the hole that Penn State’s other backs frankly lack. That doesn’t mean he has the same speed —Potts is quick to note that Singleton has that figured out — but there is a wiggle to his game that Allen and Singleton don’t have.
“I just always like to make guys miss, watching dudes like LaDainian Tomlinson, Reggie Bush, guys like that,” Potts added. “So whatever the play is designed for and I get a guy one on one, depending on the move I might make him miss. It worked out on my favor today.”
And as Penn State heads toward the thick of the Big Ten East race and the biggest games of the year, the more it can bring to the table and the more diversity it can find on the offensive side of the ball, the better off the Nittany Lions will be.
