BrutusReport.com
Dan Potokar uses Track Stardom to earn Walk-On position
Red-shirt Freshman Wide receiver Dan Potokar from Grove City High came in as a walk-on and has shown some flashes of greatness during camp and scrimmages. He has tremendous speed running track in High School, winning the 100m and 200m Districts his senior year. We discussed a number of football and non-football topics with Dan recently.
By Steve Patterson
Dan came out of Grove City as an Ohio State Buckeye walk-on in 2005 and has improved his conditioning and strength since then. With a change in strength and conditioning coordinator, Ohio State players have improved their strength and conditioning in the off season. But with the start of the football schedule, normal lifting routines are in place ensuring against injury. Dan tells us about the improved preseason conditioning. 'This off season we really hit the weights hard and with a new style. Most of our lifts were explosive and balanced; now that we are in season we are doing more of the generic heavy weight lifts with supplemental explosive lifts.'
The team is looking forward to the rest of 2006 and the great opportunity that they have to finish strong. 'The offense is obviously rolling this year and as a team we hope to improve on last years national standing, last year we lost two games, and this year we hope to lose none.' Dan told us. If the Buckeyes finish without a loss, it will be the 4th Fiesta Bowl win in 5 years and the 2nd National Championship in 5 years.
Coming from Grove City, a suburb of Columbus, Dan has always wanted to play for Ohio State. 'Yes, it was always my dream to play here, and I didn?t think that I was going to realize that dream until the end of my senior year when I had a very successful track season.' In 2005 Dan finished the District Track Meet 1st in the 100m and 200m races with times of 10.7 and 22.0 respectively. He was also a part of the 100m Relay and the 400m Relay; in which Grove City finish 3rd place in both.
A lot of incoming players mention the game day atmosphere as their most memorable moment of their freshman years. We asked Dan if this was the case for him also. 'My most memorable moment as a Buckeye would have to be the first time I got to run across the field in front of 105,000 screaming fans.'
Coach Tressel has put together one the best early records for a Division 1A program since he joined Ohio State after the 2000 season. His current record through the Bowling Green game of 2006 is 56 and 13. 'Coach Tressel is great, the man that you see behind the podium during interviews is the exact same as the man out on the practice field. He is always cool and collected, but always with a quiet intensity.' Dan told us why Coach Tressel is able to succeed in the big games in addition to the less important games against less talented teams.
Long term Dan is hoping to use his Business degree from the Fisher School of Business and settle down. 'My long term goals don?t actually include football, I'm a business major so after college I hope to get a job somewhere in the Columbus area and go from there, hopefully having a wife and possibly kids.' It is also possible that Dan might coach in the Columbus area after playing five years and earning a degree. 'I think that it would be a lot of fun to be a coach or even just be apart of the football program but as I stated before I would like to have a family and with the amount of time that I see my coaches put in right now, I can't quite comprehend how they have time to be the head of a household.'
WR Dan Potokar (official thread) - See post #93 for treatment fund details
