“Last year was different for me,” he said. “I wasn’t used to playing receiver and it took me a while to get used to the speed of college. Now I have a feel for the game.”
A former district MVP as a quarterback at Cameron Yoe, the 6-1, 170-pound Scott showed flashes of his athleticism as a UMHB freshman. But hampered by injuries and a lack of confidence, he made only five catches - four in one game.
With his status as a productive player up in the air entering his sophomore season, Scott relied on the things he’d been taught during his days with the Yoemen.
“Playing at Cameron, I learned how to step up, be a player and make the right decisions,” he said. “I learned how to be a role model and how to discipline myself because I knew that other people were watching.
“I never thought about giving up. Your body gets kind of beat up sometimes and you might think you want to sit out, but you’ll miss the game and you’ll just want to come back and play.”
Scott didn’t spend any time away from the game but returned for his second year as a major player for the seventh-ranked Crusaders (8-1 overall, 7-0 American Southwest Conference), who will make their make their fifth consecutive appearance in the NCAA Division III playoffs in two weeks.
Though he will miss UMHB’s regular-season finale Saturday against Sul Ross State (3-6, 2-5) in Alpine because of a hand injury suffered during Wednesday’s practice, Scott has become a big-play receiver for the Crusaders.
He has hauled in 14 catches for a team-high 386 yards. His five touchdown catches also lead the team, and he’s rushed twice for 24 yards and a score.
“The best part of this year has been becoming a player that the coaches know they can trust,” Scott said. “I think I started stepping up in fall camp. Then when some other guys started getting injured, we knew we would need other guys to make big plays, so that’s what I’ve tried to do.”
Not fully comfortable as a receiver last season, Scott has shown no fear as a sophomore. He’s averaging 27.6 yards per catch with a long of 63 yards.
“You have to go in there with the confidence that you’ll catch the ball,” he said. “That’s the first thing you have to do before you can make a play.
“Catching the ball is your first priority. After that, it’s try to get as many yards as you can. Sometimes you take a big hit, but you have to have the confidence to catch the ball and take the hit.”
Those are words he likely wouldn’t have uttered as a freshman, and Scott is proud of the mature receiver he has become.
“It’s great here. My family gets to come watch me play. My little nieces, nephews and cousins get to be there,” he said. “And when I get on TV sometimes, I think it makes my family’s day to see me out there doing what’s right and trying to accomplish something.”
Speaking of accomplishments, there is one other thing Scott would like to do.
“I miss throwing the ball some because it was something I liked doing,” he said. “Running the spread offense back in Cameron was comfortable for me. Maybe some day we’ll put in a reverse pass where I can throw it.”
And that would give his family one more thing to cheer about.
edrennan@temple-telegram.com
