Scott found calling as defensive end

Trevor Scott’s football career has not gone the way he originally planned.

For Scott and the National Football League’s Oakland Raiders, that’s a good thing.

Through Sunday’s game against the Houston Texans, Scott, a Potsdam High School and University at Buffalo product, is tied for the Raiders’ team lead with five sacks.

Not bad for a rookie pro who left Section 10 to play for a lightly regarded Buffalo team, redshirted as a college freshman and spent his first two seasons on the field as a tight end.

Credit Bulls coach Turner Gill for making a decision that transformed Scott’s career. In 2006, Gill, then in his first season on the Buffalo sidelines, decided Scott would be more useful as a defensive end.

“At first it was kind of just shocking because I’ve been playing so long as a tight end,” Scott told the Times shortly after the position switch was made. “As time started going I was like, ‘Wow, I’m really on defense now. It’s exciting.’”

After making just nine catches in his first two seasons, Scott wasted no time making an impact on the other side of the ball. Starting all 12 games at defensive end during his junior season, Scott led the Bulls with nine sacks and made 45 total tackles.

He recorded 10 sacks as a senior, the largest season total produced by a Bulls player since the program joined the NCAA’s Division I-A in 1999. Scott was named to the All-Mid-American Conference second team and was the runner-up in MAC Defensive Player of the Year balloting.

The National Strength and Conditioning Association recognized Scott earlier this year, naming him an All-American. In all, 239 collegiate athletes from 165 schools received the award, and Scott was one of just 67 football players on the list.

The Raiders took notice, selecting Scott in the sixth round (169th overall) of the draft.

In his first regular-season game, a 41-14 loss to the Denver Broncos on Sept. 8, Scott made one solo tackle. He sacked the New York Jets’ Brett Favre twice — and forced one fumble — in the Raiders’ 16-13 victory on Oct. 19.

Scott enjoyed another two-sack game on Dec. 14 in a 49-26 loss to the New England Patriots.

Scott, 24, listed by the Raiders as standing 6 feet 5 inches tall and weighing 255 pounds, was a 2002 selection to the Times’ All-North Football team. As a Potsdam senior that year, he made 15 catches for 253 yards and four touchdowns.

He also played basketball and participated in track and field for the Sandstoners.

To read about previous selections to the Times’ list of The North Country’s Greatest 100 Athletes of All Time, log on to www.watertowndailytimes.com