Saw This Guy The Last 2 Years
Saw This Guy The Last 2 Years
Junior Defensive Tackle Eyes Irish
By Jeff Baumhower
Jan 17, 2006
Defensive tackle will be a priority for the Notre Dame staff when they start to piece together the 2007 recruiting class. That being the case, Darius Scott of North Chicago Community high school is a player that is Notre Dame’s backyard and he’ll get a long look from the Irish. Irish Eyes spoke with his head coach, Mike Grenda to find out what makes Scott such an attractive prospect.
When the Midwest produces a talented big man that can play along the defensive line, Notre Dame needs to be a player in the recruiting process. When that player resides in the outskirts of Chicago, the Irish need to land the player. North Chicago head coach Mike Grenda believes Darius Scott (6-5 340-pounds) is the type of player that fits Notre Dame’s needs.
“We utilize Darius at offensive tackle and defensive tackle,” coach Grenda said of his standout player. “One thing I like about Darius, and something we have played around with is putting at the defensive end position. Because of his size people think he’s a slow kid, but in actuality he’s a pretty fast kid and he can do some damage at the defensive end. I don’t think many colleges will recruit him at although it’s something we can get away with. He definitely has a great pass rush coming of the end position.
“I definitely see him on the defensive side, most likely defensive tackle,” coach Grenda said of Scott’s future college position. “Darius is able to work a good swim move and he is able to get skinny and find his way between two defenders. That’s a difficult task. You can’t one-man him. You’ve got to double-team him. That leaves your linebackers open who are supposed to make the plays anyway.
“Darius understands that,” Grenda continued. “But what he does best is work the line of scrimmage. He doesn’t get too much depth on the run. He stays on the line of scrimmage and works east and west. When he gets the opportunity he’ll make the tackle. On the pass rush he can handle his own.
There are a lot of big kids that play high school football, but there is generally one particular asset the special players possess.
“It’s his agility,” coach Grenda said of the attribute that makes Scott such a dominant force on the field. “He doesn’t have a big man’s feet. He’s able to work like a 250 pounder. In the forty he’s running a 5.2 at 340 pounds. You put him up against an average lineman with his aggressiveness and power he’s just blowing people off the football field on both sides of the ball.
Notre Dame and Wisconsin are high on Scott’s list of potential suitors, but he’s going to listen to anyone in the country that is interested in recruiting him.
“We have two major schools and everybody else has the idea that he’s untouchable which is not true,” coach Grenda explained. “I’d like to see Darius go through the recruiting process like everybody else does, but Notre Dame and Wisconsin are probably his two biggest schools. He gets letters daily from both schools and we sent film out to Notre Dame recently.
“He loves Notre Dame and who wouldn’t? If you want to play football, that’s the place to be. Darius is already to in love with the idea and to see that come to fruition, I think that would be a beautiful thing for both Darius and for Notre Dame.
