‘Potts & ‘Pete’: FIU nickel corner and linebacker have gone from rivals to teammates
This was epic.
Two FIU defensive starters – outside linebacker Reggie Peterson and nickel corner Jamal Potts – have history on the football field that dates back about a decade.
When they were about 10 years old, Peterson’s Fort Pierce Greyhounds/Eagles played Potts’ Delray Rocks in the Treasure Coast Pop Warner football championship.
On the game’s final play, Potts caught a deep pass down the right sideline … and that’s where the controversy begins.
Potts swears he scored.
The refs – in a home game for Fort Pierce – ruled otherwise.
“I hit the pylon,” Potts said. “I made sure I hit the pylon.
“They said I stepped out at the one-yard line. I really scored the game-winning touchdown, but the odds were in their favor because we were in the Treasure Coast.
“If we were home, it would’ve been a different story.”
Potts still has video of the play, and he sent it to The Herald. In a review of the tape, Potts did indeed hit the pylon, but it is not clear if he stepped out of bounds. The Herald’s review also showed that the referee who made the call was trailing the play by at least 30 yards and thus not in great position.
Peterson, of course, has a different view from that of Potts.
“I’ve been beating (Potts) up since I was seven years old,” he joked.
These days, Peterson and Potts have joined forces to beat up on opposing teams as FIU (2-1) has won two straight games and is off to its best three-contest start since 2018.
The Panthers, who will visit Connecticut (0-2) on Saturday, are clearly benefitting from the improvement made by Peterson and Potts.
Peterson, for example, redshirted as a freshman linebacker in 2020. He beefed up to 240 pounds to play defensive line in 2021, and he switched back to linebacker last year.
This year – back down to 220 pounds with just 10.5 percent body fat – Peterson is finally a starting linebacker.
Peterson said he has improved his footwork and his stamina.
Regarding the latter, Peterson said he could only go for about five straight plays last year. Now, he can handle 12 or 13 consecutive plays before needing a break.
FIU coach Mike MacIntyre has consistently raved about Peterson.
“No. 1, Reggie has great charisma,” MacIntyre said. “He lights up a room when he walks in. Reggie prepares and gets better. He’s very physical and aggressive. He plays hard.
“He will be successful in life because of his attitude.”
Peterson, who said he plays “smash-mouth” football, loves FIU’s up-tempo practices.
“The best thing we do is go over a bunch of random scenarios that will probably never happen in a game,” Peterson said. “Our coaches exaggerate game speed in practices, and our linebacker group preaches on being film junkies.”
Potts, who said he studies the game of Dolphins cornerback Jalen Ramsay, played safety as a high school sophomore and then cornerback as a junior and senior.
Once he got to FIU, however, he had to learn a third different position – the nickel.
“The transition was hard at first, especially in coverage,” Potts said. “But now I’m very comfortable in the slot.”
MacIntyre said playing the nickel takes a special individual.
“A nickel is going to get blocked more than a cornerback,” MacIntyre said. “A nickel needs to be more physical inside. He has to understand run fits. He has to understand flooding an area with extra receivers coming from the back side.
“Jamal is excellent in the nickel. He’s an extremely good hitter and blitzer off the edge.”
MacIntyre said Potts is excellent at disguising his coverages.
“He has a feel for spacing,” MacIntyre said. “At that position, you’re covering inside receivers, you’re in zone, you’re in man.
“You just have to make plays.”
Just like the play Potts made – or didn’t make, depending on your perspective – one decade ago.
