Today's story on junior Will Scott, who is the Trojans' kicker, punter and kickoff specialist this year, and how he became that. Story in the Wednesday print edition of the Dothan Eagle and on dothaneagle.com HERE.
BY DREW CHAMPLIN | dchamplin@dothaneagle.com
TROY – Troy signed Will Scott thinking he’d shore up the punting position, which had an opening. Turns out, the Trojans will get more than they bargained for.
Scott, a junior who transferred to Troy from Gulf Coast (Miss.) Community College in January, also won the kickoff and placekicking duties race with freshmen Jed Solomon and Ryan Kay.
He’ll handle all kicking chores Saturday when the Trojans travel to UAB. Special teams coach Shayne Wasden noted that Scott was the most consistent with field goals and kickoffs. He captured the punting duties early on.
“We knew that his first year in junior college, he did both,” Wasden said. “We knew he had a chance to do that. He kept telling me that he was better than the guy they ended up using to kick (in his second year).”
Shifting to punting only turned out to be a blessing for Scott as a junior college sophomore. He averaged 42.7 yards per punt, earning second team All-America honors.
“To be honest, I was really upset when I was just punting to begin with,” Scott said. “I think it ended up helping me because I could just focus on that, and I got pretty good at it. Now that I’m here, I’m able to focus on both again.”
Scott said his family and hometown of Lucedale, Miss., is bracing for Hurricane Isaac this week near the coast of Mississippi. Seven years ago, the family rode out Hurricane Katrina. While they had no electricity, Scott started kicking footballs through a makeshift goalpost, with uprights on top of a soccer goal. His father Derrick built it for his birthday.
His house was fine, Scott said, but a barn on his family’s property was blown away.
“That was when I knew I wanted to kick,” Scott said. “I had been practicing soccer on it, but it was getting close to football season.”
The 5-foot-11, 192-pound Scott said he was about the same size in seventh grade (“I haven’t grown much since, unfortunately.”), so he played center on the offensive line. He moved up to be a varsity kicker in ninth grade and, after a short look at safety, he stayed at kicker.
Scott said he looked up to NFL kicker Adam Vinatieri and punter Pat McAfee, but had more admiration for David Brentz, who kicked at George County High School a few years before Scott and then at Carson-Newman in Tennessee. Now, Brentz is a Certified Registered Nurse Anesthetist, just like Scott’s father.
“The guy taught me everything he knows,” Scott said. “He came back (home) and recognized me as a talent. He mentored me all the way up. Now, he does what my dad does. My dad is his mentor and he’s mine.”
Brentz works at UAB, but “he’ll be pulling for me (Saturday). I’ll make him.”
The kicking duties have different leg angles, so Scott has to do his warm-ups in each aspect. Early on, he struggled with overkicking but Wasden said he has corrected that.
“He’s been pretty smart about that,” Wasden said. “Early on, he had a little leg fatigue and hurt his groin a little bit because he overkicked. I think he learned from that and backed off.”
The Trojans will travel Solomon, who redshirted last year, as Scott’s backup, and likely redshirt Kay. Wasden said they would continue to utilize the rugby punt as an option.
Scott said he’s been happy to have a position to focus on, rather than moving back and forth from the offensive line to the secondary. He even did some long snapping a few years back.
“I don’t know if it was me being a bad safety or a good kicker,” Scott said. “(Coach) didn’t want me getting hurt. (The offensive line) could eat me. I don’t really miss it.
“(Brentz) knew that if I wanted to play a position at the next level, it needed to be something I could work on every day.”
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