Terence Scott isn’t a normal 21-year-old.
And not just because of his blazing speed and sticky hands, but because of how meticulous he is in every facet of his life: from the practice field, to the film room, to his own living room.
When fellow senior wide receiver Jaison Williams recently found himself without a “residing address,” Scott welcomed him into his home. It wasn’t until then that Williams got an idea of just how different Scott is from his other teammates.
“His house is perfect,” Williams said. “It doesn’t look like a young adult lives in there. I mean, I’m not very dirty, but his house is basically in immaculate condition most of the time.
“He just keeps everything like an old man would. Well, I don’t want to say old, but like a mature adult would.”
And it doesn’t stop there. Scott professes a love for jazz music and Williams attests to it.
“He’s the only guy I know who listens to jazz, you know, not so much a lot of rap and whatnot,” Williams said. “It’s one of the first times I’ve had a roommate who was cool. He’s kind of reserved and so am I.”
Finally, his love for the kitchen takes his personal menu far beyond the often questionable diet of most college students.
“I love being in the kitchen,” Scott said with a grin. “That’s my zone. You put me in the kitchen and I don’t care what’s going on, I’m fine.”
On Labor Day, Scott was preparing a meal for himself and Williams while quietly listening to some jazz on the stereo. Williams strolled into the kitchen, took a look at the scene and said, “T-Scott, I swear you are a 40-year-old trapped inside a 21-year-old’s body.”
The cleanliness, Scott says, is likely a product of being raised as the only male in a house of five females: his mother and four sisters. The maturity comes from the road Scott has taken to get to where he is today as the starting wide receiver on a Division I football team.
Born in Macon, Ga., and raised in Knoxville, Tenn., he was recruited out of Knoxville’s Central High to play at Marshall University. His dream of playing at the highest level of college football and becoming the first member of his family to earn a four-year degree seemed to be taking shape – but Marshall coaches called the day before the official letter of intent signing day to tell him that they wouldn’t be signing him after all. The program was inking several other receivers the next day, and because he was a ‘Prop 48’ recruit (his high school courses weren’t at an acceptable level, requiring a year of college-level enrollment for eligibility), he was the odd man out.
“It broke me,” Scott said. “At that time everybody in Knoxville knew that I was going to go to Marshall and now I have to walk up to school with the news cameras and everybody there and tell them I wasn’t going to Marshall. That was a depressing time in my life.”
Scott’s mentor throughout his childhood – and to this day – is a man named Steve Kruger. The two met through a “big brother” program about the time Scott was turning nine years old. Kruger was then a 25-year-old University of Tennessee economics major who wanted to give back to another child the benefits he had received from a “big brother” relationship when his parents divorced.
Kruger, who had helped instill in Scott the belief that he could someday play at the Division I level, played a big role in helping Scott navigate the recruiting process and remembers the disappointment of that day well.
“When that coach called me and told me they wouldn’t be signing him, it was like a punch in the stomach,” Kruger said. “He was devastated, you could hear it in his voice over the phone and then later on when he came over to the house he just broke down and cried and my wife and I just held him.”
With the support of his family and the Krugers, Scott picked up the pieces and pressed on. He moved to California to attend College of the Canyons, where after a period of intense homesickness stemming from life in new surroundings with no friends or family, he adjusted well and went on to lead his team in receptions both seasons. He would lead the Western State Conference in receptions his sophomore year, attracting the attention of several Pacific-10 Conference schools.
“When we saw him as a recruit, he was just kind of good at everything … and that was what really intrigued me,” wide receivers coach Robin Pflugrad said.
That intrigue has turned into admiration for Scott’s attitude toward football and life for Pflugrad. When injuries to the receiving corps forced Scott out of his redshirt year last season and limited his Division I career to just one full season, Scott was rightfully disappointed but willing to do whatever it took to help the team.
“It’s really a tragedy but he’s taken it well,” Pflugrad said. “I feel really, really bad about that situation, not only for Oregon football but for him as an individual.”
Mike Bellotti has praised Scott’s progress this fall as the most pleasant development of fall camp. That progress, combined with his starting debut performance of six catches for 117 yards and a touchdown Saturday in Oregon’s season-opening win over Washington, brings the tragedy of the lost year into even sharper focus for Scott and his coaches.
But Scott refuses to dwell on the past or think about what might have been.
“That year is over and done with. We’re into a new season,” he said. “It hurts, it does hurt, but when I came into this program and I decided I wanted to come here I was buying into the team. Once you buy into the team, you need to give everything to the team.
“And who’s to say this won’t be a great year for me? I’m just having fun and enjoying this moment right now.”
[email protected]