And the University of West Georgia sophomore defensive end is just as frustrated as everyone else in and around the program to be sporting a 3-6 record heading into Saturday’s season finale at Midwestern State.
But Teter, who has cracked the starting lineup the past three games on the front line, is confident the 2012 season will be more of a hiccup on the road to bigger and better things following a promising 6-4 season last fall.
“Even though we had a season we didn’t expect this year, I think all in all, it’s going to be positive because of the amount of experience all these guys got. We have a ton of young guys on defense — and on offense, as well — but I think we have just three seniors on defense this year. So just getting that experience is going to help drastically for next year and the following years coming,” said the 6-foot-3, 260-pound
West Forsyth product that has 17 tackles with 1.5 sacks and an interception on the year.
Of West Georgia’s six losses, four have come by 10 points or less and the other two were against nationally-ranked opponents. And while no one donning a UWG uniform is making excuses, they do understand that learning to win and big-game experience go hand-in-hand.
“Experienced teams win close games. It just shows that we’re a younger team right now. When we get that experience, we believe we’ll be winning those close games,” noted sophomore defensive back Delontae Amey.
Amey, who emerged into a leading defensive role this year — starting all nine games at one of the two safety positions — is second on the team with 40 tackles and an interception. The former Banneker High School standout said the program will indeed bounce back from this season.
“We knew that West Georgia was headed somewhere. We want that to be heading in the right direction. So just me being a sophomore and playing alongside a lot of underclassmen, we’re trying to keep it going in the right direction,” Amey said.
Sophomore Lane Thompson has been a key special teams performer and also lined up in the UWG backfield this fall, and he said the difference between wins and losses this year is shoring up some of the little things.
“I think this season we were really just a few plays away from it all being different. I think if we really just make it more intense in the offseason and even try that much harder and come back next year, because nobody likes the taste that this season’s left in our mouth,” said Thompson, who has a team-best 434 return yards to go along with 53 yards and a touchdown on six carries. “We definitely want to come out here next year and show everybody what we’ve got to prove.”
While the offensive line is one of the few veteran units for UWG, the offense is currently being guided by a true freshman quarterback in Dallas Dickey, while sophomore tailback Seth Hinsley has been one of the most productive rushers and redshirt freshman Joey Eliezer has stepped in to lead the receiving core with three touchdown receptions following the season-ending injury to standout Denarius Appling.
And while there are still issues to iron out, UWG coach Daryl Dickey knows some of his younger guys will be a lot better because of their experiences this season.
“It’s a grown man’s league — there’s no doubt about that. We were certainly a young football team this year. There’s no question. But I think these guys are really capable of performing and are excited about getting back out here on the practice field,” Dickey said.
“We’ve got some really solid underclassmen that have been part of the program now for one or two years. I think we’ve got a really good nucleus to build on and I think they’re excited about what’s going on and where they’re at and the opportunities and prospects ahead.”
Teter stressed that now is not the time to give up on the West Georgia program, even if it hasn’t been the year everyone envisioned.
“It’s been tough. But we go into film and it’s just a couple of mishaps that are holding us back. We know that we are almost there. We are so close. And that’s what’s really going to help motivate us for this offseason to get in the weight room and get our running together and push even harder than we did last offseason and try to come together closer as a team,” Teter said.
“We’ll be coming back full-fledged next year. It’s going to take a lot of hard work and a lot the experience that guys got this year. I think next year will be a huge year for us. We’ll have a lot of juniors and seniors next year on the D-line and the linebackers, as well. This offseason, we’ve just got to continue to lift weights and grind out — and we’ll be coming.”
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