Lakers Welcome Fitzpatrick, Potash To Football Staff

CHICAGO – Roosevelt football head coach Jared Williamson added two defensive assistants to his staff for the 2024 season, the program announced Friday.

Patton Fitzpatrick joins the Lakers as their new linebackers coach and Blake Potash will be the new defensive line coach. The pair will also share responsibilities as special teams coordinator under Williamson for the 2024 campaign. They join new offensive coordinator Kaleb Borghardt and defensive coordinator Bill McKeon as new additions to the Roosevelt staff as the program embarks on the transition to NCAA Division II.

Fitzpatrick is familiar with the Lakers from the opposing sidelines having spent the last four seasons coaching against Roosevelt in the Mid-States Football Association Midwest League. He was a graduate assistant at Judson in 2020 then moved up to linebackers coach and defensive coordinator in 2021 and 2022. Last season, the Arlington Heights native was the linebackers coach at St. Francis (Ill.) where the Fighting Saints set program records for fewest points and fewest yards allowed in a season.

A graduate of St. Viator High School in Arlington Heights, Fitzpatrick played high school football at Morris Field before playing four years at the University of St. Thomas in Minnesota. He helped the Tommies win three conference championships and advance to the NCAA Division III quarterfinals twice during his playing career.

"Patton has been given a lot of responsibility at a young age and brings coordinating experience along with recruiting familiarity to our staff," Williamson said. "He played college football at an outstanding program and knows what it takes to be successful in the classroom and on the field. It will be pretty cool to see Patton coach at Morris Field where he played his high school football."

Potash brings a wealth of Division II experience to the Lakers staff as the program prepares its move to the Great Lakes Intercollegiate Athletic Conference. He began his coaching career at Abilene Christian, working his way up from a defensive analyst to the head of analytics at the Football Championships Subdivision program. He moved on to coach defensive backs at Black Hills State, where he was also the recruiting coordinator, for two seasons, and mentored safety Doodles Quinones to be the nation's leading freshman tackler.

In 2022, Potash coached linebackers at Valdosta State while also overseeing the program's kickoff and punt coverage units. He went overseas last season to be the defensive coordinator of the Hildesheim Invaders in the German Football League. The Invaders were a perfect 10-0 and led the league in sacks, takeaways and defensive scores while also allowing 70 fewer rushing yards per game than the previous year.

A 2016 graduate of Roosevelt University, Potash becomes the first member of the Lakers staff to have graduated from Roosevelt as an undergraduate.

"Blake has been part of two different NCAA Division II conferences as a coach and the mix of his defensive and special teams experience will absolutely benefit our student-athletes," Williamson said. "He will also hold a special place in the history of our program, being the first Roosevelt University undergraduate to become part of the staff."

The Lakers also welcomed Thomas Flood as a graduate assistant working with the defensive line. Flood played four seasons at Morehead State from 2018-2021 and coached at NorthEastern State during the 2023 season.