• Typecasting. To college football recruitniks, no name over the course of the web-driven explosion of recruiting hype over the last decade is more synonymous with "bust" than "Darrell Scott." Some guys get hurt; some guys get in trouble or don't make the grade. Some wind up ceding or sharing the depth chart with other celebrated teammates. But Scott, by far the most sought-after, highest-rated running back in the country when he signed with Colorado in 2008, is one of the few elite prospects whose initial downfall seemed primarily due to the fact that, really, he just wasn't that good.
• Best-Case. Scott was with USF last year as a mandatory redshirt, but in other respects, he's like a talented junior college transfer: A blank slate with some baggage but also an enormously high ceiling. If that doesn't exactly put him in position to emerge as the next Cam Newton, there are some other realistic success stories – the handiest of which is Kansas State running back Daniel Thomas, another oversized back who led the Big 12 in rushing each of the last two years after transferring to Manhattan.
The Bulls were far more running back-friendly in 2010 than they'd been in years – top rushers Moise Plancher and Demetris Murray combined for more than 1,300 yards after four straight seasons of tepid ground attacks built around quarterbacks Matt Grothe and B.J. Daniels taking off out of the shotgun – and with 224-pound Auburn transfer Dontae Aycock also in the fold, seem to have made a commitment to exploiting bigger backs in more traditional, straight-ahead fashion. If Scott can solidify himself in an every-down role, he should be in position to challenge for 1,000 yards on 15 to 20 carries per game.
• Worst-Case. As you can see from the clip at the top of this post, shot after USF's first spring practice session on Thursday, Scott sounds happy, healthy, confident and unselfish. Which is pretty much exactly how he sounded after Colorado's first fall practice in 2009:
Three months and 95 yards later, he was on his way out. Aside from a brief, isolated flashes – only seven of Scott's 110 carries as a Buffalo went for at least ten yards, and his only touchdown came on a one-yard plunge in garbage time of his first game – nothing he did in two years at Colorado indicated he can be a successful every-down back in a "Big Six" conference, especially on a team with at least two other equally viable options at the same position in Aycock, Murray and Marcus Shaw.
His weight, in particular, remains an issue. When he signed with Colorado, he was listed at 205, and said after playing at around 215 as a freshman that he wanted to get closer to his high school weight. Instead, he gained about 10 pounds by the start of the following season, without adding any apparent power. A year-and-a-half later, he's telling reporters he's at 225, and USF lists him at 230. Even assuming that's "good" weight, he didn't show any sign at CU of making the adjustment to power back.
Listed alphabetically by school.
• KEENAN ALLEN, Cal
• MARCUS COKER, Iowa
• SHAYNE SKOV, Stanford
• Fun Fact. Lest anyone retroactively doubt the extent to which Scott was considered the Chosen One three years ago, the New York Times chronicled his last-minute decision in February 2008 to change his commitment from Texas – he'd privately committed to the Longhorns a few weeks earlier – to Colorado, and Longhorn assistant Bobby Kennedy's desperate pleas to keep his prize fish in the boat:
Scott then called [Colorado head coach] Hawkins, who did not answer, before calling Kennedy and sharing his decision. As they talked for 25 minutes, Scott twirled a business card from Kennedy while Kennedy tried to sway him.
Kennedy reminded Scott that [running backs coach Major] Applewhite had called him but that Scott had not returned the calls. Kennedy said Texas would call more running plays out of the I-formation and that Scott could win the Heisman Trophy. Kennedy implored Scott to trust him and encouraged him to put his faith in his decision with God.
When Scott eventually said he was no longer leaning toward Texas because of the coaching change [Applewhite's recent assignment as running backs coach], Kennedy said he was disappointed and baffled.
"Texas isn’t the spot for me because of that move," Scott said. "That's it."
The words seemed to leave Kennedy speechless.
"All right, Coach," Scott said. "I'm sorry."
Texas fans were, too, Darrell, whatever they say after going 25-2 over the next two years with quarterback Colt McCoy (who texted Scott less than an hour before his signing day announcement for Colorado) leading the 'Horns in rushing from an almost exclusively shotgun-based offense. They're still waiting on the return of the I-formation, too.
• What to expect in the fall. They don't pin the "Next LaDainian Tomlinson" tag on guys with nothing to offer, and the fact that Scott didn't disappear off the face of the earth after his initial failure is a good sign of his commitment to becoming a quality Division I player.
Obviously, though, expectations have been reduced to the point that simply getting on the field on a regular basis in a two or three-headed rotation seems like a rousing success story. No, he's not dead yet. Presumably he's on track for a degree. But BS and 600 yards in the Big East's fourth-best rushing attack isn't going to make anyone stop wondering what might have been.
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Matt Hinton is on Twitter: Follow him @DrSaturday.
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