John Scott Jr.
John Scott Jr. (born December 15, 1975) is an American football coach and former player. He is currently the defensive line coach at Penn State under James Franklin. Scott played professionally for the Greensboro Prowlers of the AF2 and the Montreal Alouettes of the CFL before entering the collegiate coaching ranks.
| Current position | |
|---|---|
| Title | Defensive line coach |
| Team | Penn State |
| Conference | Big Ten |
| Biographical details | |
| Born | December 15, 1975 Omaha, Nebraska |
| Alma mater | Western Carolina University |
| Playing career | |
| 1995–1998 | Western Carolina |
| 2000–2001 | Greensboro Prowlers |
| 2003 | Montreal Alouettes |
| Position(s) | Defensive end |
| Coaching career (HC unless noted) | |
| 2001 | Lexington (NC) West Davidson HS (DL) |
| 2002–2004 | Louisiana–Lafayette (GA) |
| 2005 | Norfolk State (DL) |
| 2006–2007 | Western Carolina (DE/OLB) |
| 2008 | Western Carolina (DL) |
| 2009 | Missouri State (DE) |
| 2010–2012 | Georgia Southern (ST/DL) |
| 2013–2014 | Texas Tech (DL) |
| 2015 | New York Jets (DQC) |
| 2016 | New York Jets (Asst. DL) |
| 2017–2018 | Arkansas (DL) |
| 2019 | South Carolina (DL) |
| 2020–present | Penn State (DL) |
Playing career
High school
Scott played for Greer High School in Greer, South Carolina. He graduated in 1995 after playing on the 1994 state championship team.[1]
College
Scott lettered at Western Carolina at the defensive end position for four years from 1995-98.[2] In 1997, Scott led all defensive linemen in tackles, and was a second team All-Southern Conference selection. Scott graduated with a Bachelor's degree in communications in 2000.
Professional
Following his graduation from Western Carolina, Scott played three years of professional football. From 2000-2001, Scott played for the Greensboro Prowlers of the Af2 league and was named the team's defensive player of the year in 2000. In 2003, Scott participated in preseason camp for the Canadian Football League's Montreal Alouettes.[2]
Coaching career
Scott entered the coaching ranks in 2001 as a defensive line coach at West Davidson High School in Tyro, North Carolina. Following that, Scott accepted a graduate assistant position at Louisiana–Lafayette while earning a master's degree from 2002-2004. Subsequently, Scott spent one year as the defensive line coach for Norfolk State before returning to his alma mater Western Carolina to coach defensive ends and outside linebackers. He spent three seasons at Western Carolina before spending the 2009 season as the defensive ends coach for Missouri State.[2]
After his stint at Missouri State, Scott accepted a position as the special teams and defensive line coach for Georgia Southern for three seasons. During his time with the Eagles, Scott mentored Brent Russell, who was an All-American all three seasons under him and finished as the program's all-time sack leader. Scott also influenced All-American Roderick Tinsley an All-Southern Conference selection John Douglas during his three seasons in Statesboro.[3][4]
In January 2013, Scott was hired as the defensive line coach for Texas Tech under head coach Kliff Kingsbury.[5] During his two seasons with the Red Raiders, Scott mentored All-Big 12, Kerry Hyder and Branden Jackson.[4]
New York Jets
Scott was hired by the New York Jets, under head coach Todd Bowles, as a defensive quality control coach on February 11, 2015.[6] He was promoted to assistant defensive line coach on February 9, 2016.[7] During the 2016 season, the Jets finished fifth in the AFC in rush defense and rushing touchdowns allowed. Defensive tackle Leonard Williams was selected to the Pro Bowl.[8]
Arkansas Razorbacks
Scott was hired by the Arkansas Razorbacks and head coach Bret Bielema as the new defensive line coach on February 7, 2017, replacing Rory Segrest.[9] He remained on staff under Chad Morris in 2018 as the lone holdover from Bielema's staff.[10]
South Carolina Gamecocks
On January 22, 2019, it was announced by head coach Will Muschamp that Scott was hired as the new defensive line coach at the University of South Carolina.[10] Under Scott Jr.'s guidance, Javon Kinlaw was named first-team All-SEC by the coaches.[11]
Penn State Nittany Lions
On February 8, 2020, Scott was announced as the defensive line coach for the Penn State Nittany Lions and head coach James Franklin. He replaces Sean Spencer, who left the Nittany Lions after six seasons to join the New York Giants.[12]
Personal life
Scott was born in Omaha, Nebraska but grew up in Greer, South Carolina.
Scott completed his master's degree in education at the University of Louisiana at Lafayette in 2006.
References
- "Scott hired as defensive line coach at Texas Tech". Greer Today. January 23, 2013. Retrieved 29 January 2014.
- "John Scott Profile". Western Carolina University. Retrieved 29 January 2014.
- "Scott hired as defensive line coach at Texas Tech". GreerToday.com. 2013 Greer Today. January 23, 2013. Archived from the original on March 4, 2016. Retrieved February 9, 2020.
- Harper, Doc (February 7, 2017). "Arkansas Names John Scott Jr. New Defensive Line Coach". ArkansasFight.com. 2017 Vox Media, Inc. Archived from the original on December 24, 2017. Retrieved February 9, 2020.
- Graham, Mike (January 18, 2013). "Texas Tech completes and introduces new football staff". Dallas Morning-News. Archived from the original on 29 November 2014. Retrieved 29 January 2014.
- New York Jets (February 11, 2015). "Bowles, Jets Hire Quality Control–Defense Coach". New York Jets. Archived from the original on February 15, 2015. Retrieved February 12, 2015.
- Lange, Randy (February 9, 2016). "Todd Bowles Fills Three Coaching Vacancies". New York Jets. Archived from the original on March 15, 2016. Retrieved March 15, 2016.
- McLean, Joe (January 22, 2019). "John Scott Jr. hired as Gamecock defensive line coach". The Daily Gamecock. 2019 The Daily Gamecock. Archived from the original on February 5, 2019. Retrieved February 9, 2020.
- Jones, Matt (February 7, 2017). "Arkansas hires Jets' Scott as defensive line coach". ArkansasOnline.com. 2017, Arkansas Democrat-Gazette, Inc. Archived from the original on November 30, 2018. Retrieved February 10, 2020.
- "John Scott Jr. Named Defensive Line Coach". Gamecocksonline.com. January 22, 2019. Archived from the original on February 10, 2020. Retrieved February 10, 2020.
- SEC Staff (December 10, 2019). "2019 All-SEC Football Team announced". SECsports.com. Archived from the original on December 14, 2019. Retrieved February 10, 2020.
- Wogenrich, Mark."Penn State football: Lions hire new defensive line coach, announce further staff changes", The Morning Call, February 8, 2020, retrieved February 9, 2020.