Skip to main content
Friday, November 13, 2026Nov 13

Ralph Potter’s McCallie return a comfort to him, players

potters-mccallie-return-a-comfort-to-him-players
potters-mccallie-return-a-comfort-to-him-players potters-mccallie-return-a-comfort-to-him-players
photo Coach Ralph Potter is seen in this file photo.

As a sixth-grader with a brother who was a senior starter at McCallie, Casey Cook was both scared and in awe of then-coach Ralph Potter.

“I looked up to him, too,” said Cook, now a senior and one who finally is getting a chance to play for an old hero.

Potter returned to McCallie last spring after spending five years as head coach at Brentwood Academy in Nashville.

“When my brother was a senior, I remember Coach Potter taught them mental toughness,” Cook said. “In a lot of ways he’s different from other coaches. He spends a lot of time talking about being a man and building a brotherhood.”

Nothing’s changed. When asked about his return, Potter smiled.