Every NFL season, new players emerge as strong contributors and stars and make a name for themselves. Sometimes, that player comes seemingly out of nowhere ... But usually offseason workouts are a good indicator as to how a player is developing... at least in the eyes of the coaching staff.
Cornerback Eric Scott Jr. is being noticed by those eyes … and his path to becoming a Dallas Cowboys is different than most.
The Cowboys traded up to to pick the Southern Mississippi cornerback in the sixth round of this year's NFL Draft, a decision fueled in part after watching him on YouTube.
Scott wasn’t invited to the Senior Bowl or the NFL Scouting Combine. At his pro day, he pulled a quad muscle, causing him to run a 40-yard dash in a slowish 4.72 seconds. But it was this stroke of bad luck that inspired him to take an even more unconventional route to impress scouts.
After recovering from his pulled quad, Scott hired a videographer to record him doing the defensive back workouts and drills - the stuff he was robbed of completing at his pro day. He uploaded the video on YouTube, and sent the link to the Dallas staff.
Since, Scott has impressed defensive coordinator Dan Quinn and signed a 4-year, $4 million contract. … and as CowboysSI.com saw in person at the time, when a few guys missed minicamp reps, Scott found himself working with the first team.
Said Quinn via ESPN: "When you see a guy wanting the moment to go compete, like, ‘I'm balling my fists up and saying, 'I ain't leaving here,' that's what I'm looking for specifically for the rookies. That kind of mindset and attitude is really what it takes for a young player to assert themselves into these moments because that responsibility is really to say, 'Hey, man, can we count on you when it's there?'
“Them learning to do that early on, that's a big deal, knowing that like the amount of work that goes into to say, 'I'm down for this challenge.' I've seen that from Eric so far."
Dallas' defense, led by NFL Defensive Player of the Year Favorite Micah Parsons, hopes to continue its dominance with help from its new pieces. Rookie Scott, who seems a good fit now on special teams, has already shown his determination to get to the league. At training camp in Oxnard, we bet he again “balls up his fists” and answers Quinn’s call.
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