IU Tailback Stevie Scott III Pushes By Deed, Not Word
6/18/2020 3:00:00 PM | Football
By Pete DiPrimio
IUHoosiers.com
BLOOMINGTON, Ind. – The words won't rock you. That's not Stevie Scott III's style. He's an Indiana running back on a mission, and talk won't get it done.
Action will.
If the junior has to run you over, brace yourself.
If he has to juke you, be warned.
Ask about his goals for the upcoming season and you get calm before a football storm.
"Really just going through practice," he says. "Getting repetition every day and just trying to get better."
Push a little deeper and you get specifics without drama.
"Just working on trying to protect the quarterback and run the ball," he says. "Trying to be aggressive and help the team make plays. It's focusing on ourselves and building up that team chemistry that we need that will help us move forward."
Moving forward from a break-through 8-5 season is priority No. 1, and Scott is set to play a big part. He's a 6-2, 231-pound force of football nature far from a finished product despite 1,982 rushing yards and 20 touchdowns in 23 career games.
"Everything can get better in his game," running backs coach Mike Hart says, "like (yards after contact), making the safety miss, making the big plays. We emphasize it in practice with the drills we do."
IU has had its share of outstanding running backs and, after two seasons, Scott rates with any of them. His 4.9 yards-per-career average is better than those of Anthony Thompson, Alex Smith and Mike Harkrader, three of the top four rushers in program history. He has nine 100-yard rushing games. No Hoosier can match his 1,137-yard true freshman rushing season.
Still, Hart wants more. He will push, demand, encourage and motivate. Big Ten success, and Scott's potential, demand it.
"To get where he where he wants to get to," Hart says, "and be the player he wants to be, everything needs to continue to develop. Hopefully he's doing that now."
Elite running backs block and pass receive at game-altering levels. Hart emphasizes that to all his running backs, and Scott has gotten the message.
As a freshman, he caught 16 passes for 86 yards and a touchdown. Last year, it was 26 for 211 and a touchdown
"Being a player who has all the attributes," he says. "Showing the NFL, coaches and people around the nation I could be that type of back."
Adds Hart: "One thing he really worked on this past season was catching the ball as I was on him about it as a freshman.
"He's a guy who wants to be on the field every down. He wants to be a third-down back. He wants to be the guy split out. So that's something he's run with in trying to get better.
"He grew from when he was a freshman, just his knowledge of football. He's a smart kid. He caught some big passes for us last year, so he has that skill set that he's continuing to develop."
Pandemic separation kept Scott and all the Hoosiers away from IU facilities, but not from training. Each player had a workout program designed for their needs and situations.
"I've been doing a lot of core workouts," Scott said in May. "Trying to build that inner strength up. Weights are good and all, but if you have that core strength, that's really powerful. That's your inner stuff. That's all muscle. That's all yourself.
"It's doing core work and going to the field and doing field work. Trying to get my footwork right. Going over the little things. Just trying to better myself."
Communicating with teammates is a big part of that.
"We stay in contact a lot," Scott says. "There's a lot of love on the team. We all check in on each other and see how we're doing. We make sure we are staying on top of what we have to do. Make sure we stay in the business."
It's definitely not business as usual.
"It's a challenge," Scott says, "but like Coach Hart said, this is really preparing us for the NFL.
"We've been working out and building that team chemistry and trying to get better."
Scott was back home in Syracuse, N.Y., working with his father, Stevie Scott Jr., a former high school running back.
"We've been building that bond lately," the younger Scott says. "(We) have been working out and talking over a lot of things."
Scott got an added boost with a recent Zoom call from ex-Hoosier Jordan Howard, now an NFL running back with the Miami Dolphins. Howard talked about staying positive despite these uncertain times.
Injuries cost Scott two games and a 1,000-yard sophomore season. Still, he finished with 845 yards and 10 rushing touchdowns, giving him 20 rushing TDs for his career. That ties quarterback Trent Green for eighth in program history.
Scott is 18 yards away from becoming the 14th Hoosier to rush for 2,000 yards. He needs 1,018 yards to become the eighth IU player to surpass 3,000 rushing yards.
"He's a kid that I know loves football and wants to be a great player, and play in the NFL one day," Hart says. "He has to continue to work on the little things, reads, defensive scheme, where should the ball go, who's blocking who. Develop his knowledge of the game.
"He knows who to line up with, so he knows who the unblocked defender is, and he can be ready to make that guy miss."
You don't need to be a big talker to understand that.
IUHoosiers.com
BLOOMINGTON, Ind. – The words won't rock you. That's not Stevie Scott III's style. He's an Indiana running back on a mission, and talk won't get it done.
Action will.
If the junior has to run you over, brace yourself.
If he has to juke you, be warned.
Ask about his goals for the upcoming season and you get calm before a football storm.
"Really just going through practice," he says. "Getting repetition every day and just trying to get better."
Push a little deeper and you get specifics without drama.
"Just working on trying to protect the quarterback and run the ball," he says. "Trying to be aggressive and help the team make plays. It's focusing on ourselves and building up that team chemistry that we need that will help us move forward."
Moving forward from a break-through 8-5 season is priority No. 1, and Scott is set to play a big part. He's a 6-2, 231-pound force of football nature far from a finished product despite 1,982 rushing yards and 20 touchdowns in 23 career games.
"Everything can get better in his game," running backs coach Mike Hart says, "like (yards after contact), making the safety miss, making the big plays. We emphasize it in practice with the drills we do."
IU has had its share of outstanding running backs and, after two seasons, Scott rates with any of them. His 4.9 yards-per-career average is better than those of Anthony Thompson, Alex Smith and Mike Harkrader, three of the top four rushers in program history. He has nine 100-yard rushing games. No Hoosier can match his 1,137-yard true freshman rushing season.
Still, Hart wants more. He will push, demand, encourage and motivate. Big Ten success, and Scott's potential, demand it.
"To get where he where he wants to get to," Hart says, "and be the player he wants to be, everything needs to continue to develop. Hopefully he's doing that now."
Elite running backs block and pass receive at game-altering levels. Hart emphasizes that to all his running backs, and Scott has gotten the message.
As a freshman, he caught 16 passes for 86 yards and a touchdown. Last year, it was 26 for 211 and a touchdown
"Being a player who has all the attributes," he says. "Showing the NFL, coaches and people around the nation I could be that type of back."
Adds Hart: "One thing he really worked on this past season was catching the ball as I was on him about it as a freshman.
"He's a guy who wants to be on the field every down. He wants to be a third-down back. He wants to be the guy split out. So that's something he's run with in trying to get better.
"He grew from when he was a freshman, just his knowledge of football. He's a smart kid. He caught some big passes for us last year, so he has that skill set that he's continuing to develop."
Pandemic separation kept Scott and all the Hoosiers away from IU facilities, but not from training. Each player had a workout program designed for their needs and situations.
"I've been doing a lot of core workouts," Scott said in May. "Trying to build that inner strength up. Weights are good and all, but if you have that core strength, that's really powerful. That's your inner stuff. That's all muscle. That's all yourself.
"It's doing core work and going to the field and doing field work. Trying to get my footwork right. Going over the little things. Just trying to better myself."
Communicating with teammates is a big part of that.
"We stay in contact a lot," Scott says. "There's a lot of love on the team. We all check in on each other and see how we're doing. We make sure we are staying on top of what we have to do. Make sure we stay in the business."
It's definitely not business as usual.
"It's a challenge," Scott says, "but like Coach Hart said, this is really preparing us for the NFL.
"We've been working out and building that team chemistry and trying to get better."
Scott was back home in Syracuse, N.Y., working with his father, Stevie Scott Jr., a former high school running back.
"We've been building that bond lately," the younger Scott says. "(We) have been working out and talking over a lot of things."
Scott got an added boost with a recent Zoom call from ex-Hoosier Jordan Howard, now an NFL running back with the Miami Dolphins. Howard talked about staying positive despite these uncertain times.
Injuries cost Scott two games and a 1,000-yard sophomore season. Still, he finished with 845 yards and 10 rushing touchdowns, giving him 20 rushing TDs for his career. That ties quarterback Trent Green for eighth in program history.
Scott is 18 yards away from becoming the 14th Hoosier to rush for 2,000 yards. He needs 1,018 yards to become the eighth IU player to surpass 3,000 rushing yards.
"He's a kid that I know loves football and wants to be a great player, and play in the NFL one day," Hart says. "He has to continue to work on the little things, reads, defensive scheme, where should the ball go, who's blocking who. Develop his knowledge of the game.
"He knows who to line up with, so he knows who the unblocked defender is, and he can be ready to make that guy miss."
You don't need to be a big talker to understand that.
Players Mentioned
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