A chance to play football and pursue a mechanical engineering degree was too good to pass up for Carson High's Chris Kotter.
Kotter signed a letter of intent to play football at South Dakota Tech, a prestigious engineering and science school. The 5-9, 160-pound Kotter is expected to play running back for the NAIA Hardrockers.
South Dakota Tech competes in the Dakota Athletic Conference, also known as the DAC-10. Kotter will end up playing against one of the schools in the conference that showed interest in him, DAC-10 power Minot State of North Dakota.
Kotter also looked into the possibility of playing for Feather River Community College, but academics played a major role in him choosing South Dakota Tech.
"I went with what is best for my degree," he said. "Academics is big. A big part was the education for me and I love playing football."
Last season for the Senators, Kotter earned all-Sierra League and all-Northern 4A first team honors. He rushed for 1,317 yards and 17 touchdowns. A big play threat, six of Kotter's scores came from more than 50 yards. He also rushed for a career-high 245 yards and four TDs against Fallon.
With 4.6 speed in the 40, Carson football coach Shane Quilling, who also coaches track, said that time should come down as Kotter runs during the track season. "He'll be quicker by the end of track," Quilling said.
"If you're not 4.5 by the end of track, I'm not doing a very good job," Quilling told Kotter.
Kotter said he didn't know how much playing time he would receive as a freshman. "I don't know how it's going to be," he said.
But he said he'll work to earn as much playing time as soon as possible. "I'm going to bust my butt," he said.
There's also a possibility that Kotter could run track at South Dakota Tech, depending on how well he's doing academically. "There is a possibility, depending on how everything's going," he said.
Kotter will look to become bigger, faster and stronger while at South Dakota Tech and is now working on strengthening his legs.
He considered the option of going to a school like Feather River to earn a shot at playing at a Division II or even a Division I school. But Kotter said he decided the best option for him was to complete his education at a four-year school.
