Countdown to 2020 IUFB Kickoff: Eight Days (Stevie Scott)

Written by: TJ Inman (@TJHoosierHuddle)

Ladies and gentlemen, we are a little more than one week away from the season opener for the Indiana Hoosiers! After a long and often uncertain offseason, IU will finally be taking the field and battling the Penn State Nittany Lions. Today’s second part of the Hoosier Huddle Countdown profile focuses on Stevie Scott.

Name – Stevie Scott

Position – Running Back (Junior)

Hometown – Syracuse, New York (Christian Brothers High School)

Height – 6’2”

Weight – 231 pounds

The second number eight on the roster is IU’s starting running back and one of the cornerstones of the offense: Stevie Scott. Scott is a junior that is quite possibly playing his final season in Bloomington. He would certainly be welcomed back with open arms if he wanted to play for IU in 2021 but running backs only have so many miles on their tires and if Scott has a strong season, he could turn his attention to the NFL. Either way, it has been an impressive ascendancy for the converted linebacker from New York.

Stevie Scott was an impressive high school player but a broken leg limited him to only three games in 2017 and his recruitment was somewhat hampered. IU’s running backs coach, Mike Hart, grew up close to the area Scott grew up and Hart used his relationship to help flip Scott from a commitment to Rutgers. Hart then fought hard to have the freshman on his side of the ball, playing running back instead of linebacker. Injuries in front of him opened the door for the true freshman and he busted through it, setting school true freshman records with 1,137 yards and ten touchdowns. He was named to the honorable-mention All-Big Ten squad and was a two-time Big Ten freshman of the week.

His 2019 season was a bit of step back statistically but he was still terrific. Scott rushed for 845 yards and a 4.7 yards per carry average with ten touchdowns. He also caught 26 passes for 211 yards and a touchdown. He led the team with 96 all-purpose yards per game and 11 touchdowns. Scott was named to the second-team All-Big Ten squad and won the team’s Corby Davis Memorial Award for the team’s best back.

Now a junior, Stevie Scott enters the season only 18 yards short of gaining 2,000 for his career. He is now on the 2020 Maxwell Award and Doak Walker Award watch lists. The Hoosiers have a strong backfield and he’ll certainly be sharing carries with Sampson James and newly converted running back David Ellis and potentially newcomer Tim Baldwin. The lead back for the Hoosiers will certainly still be Stevie Scott and if the offensive line can provide solid blocking, he should be in line for a great campaign.

“I am excited to be a big part of the offense,” Scott told the media. “I am going into every practice with the mindset to be great and helping others to be the best versions of themselves.”