Tackling Injury and Opponents

Trevor Scott battles back from injury, excels on defense

Trevor Scott

BUFFALO, NY - Eighteen months ago, senior Trevor Scott (Potsdam, NY/Potsdam) couldn’t tie his own shoes, lie down flat, or get up without the help of a friend. Eighteen months ago, Scott was recovering from an injury sustained on the gridiron. Yet eight months ago, he got right back on the field he was hurt on, overcame adversity while switching positions, and imprinted his name in the UB record books.

“I broke two bones in my back during the Ohio game at home,” said Scott in regards to the October 29, 2005 incident that sidelined him for the rest of the season. “I couldn’t walk. I couldn’t really do anything by myself. I had to have people put my socks and shoes on for me everyday. I was sleeping sitting up for three and a half, four weeks.”

“I was walking like the Hunchback of Notre Dame,” Scott added. “All my nerves were just so constricted in my right side. I would get shooting pains down my leg. It was the worst pain of my life.”

After almost nine weeks of pain and suffering, Scott went back to football with a rejuvenated respect and motivation for the game he was temporarily taken away from.

“I’ve always been motivated but that just pushed me over the edge,” Scott said. “It just showed me how much I miss doing everything. Just sitting around and watching everybody else compete and lift—yeah, I was in excruciating pain, but the biggest thing that hurt was just not being able to do anything. That really motivated me to the top and I’ve just been going from there.”

Scott spent the 2004 and 2005 seasons at tight end, a position he was familiar with from his high school days in Potsdam. During the two seasons, he accumulated nine catches for 97 yards. However, his best statistics so far in his career at Buffalo came when he returned to the defensive side of the ball during the 2006 season.

“In high school, it was always ‘Potsdam’s linebacker Scott’ and it was never ‘Potsdam tight end.’ I was always known for defense,” Scott said.

Opposing quarterbacks quickly became familiar with Scott. The 6-5, 258-pound defensive end crossed the line of scrimmage and brought the quarterback down nine times for a loss of 62 yards during the 2006 season, the most sacks by a UB athlete in Buffalo’s Division I-A history. Scott also led the team in tackles for loss, knocking the opponent back 13.5 times for 75 yards.

“I’ve always been more of a defensive mindset and I’ve just wanted to be let loose like a rabid dog and just run. I run all day so I’m happy about that,” said Scott, the 2006 ‘U Believe’ award winner for the defensive line.

Scott fills the role of captain for the second year in a row entering his final season at UB.

“It’s gone by so fast. I don’t know where the time went,” Scott said. “You get here and it’s all so overwhelming. Going from high school to here, you don’t know what to expect. After that first year is out of the way, you get a gist for the whole thing. Now I’m going into my fifth year and I don’t even know where the time went. Every year gets faster.”

Scott’s senior year schedule is demanding, with a UB Stadium visit from Baylor for the home opener and trips to Syracuse, Rutgers, and historic Penn State. Scott sees the stiff competition as a way to improve the program and get better by playing the best.

“The only way you are really going to find out about yourself, to see what you have deep down inside is to play the best,” Scott said. “A lot of our guys know how to rise to that challenge. We proved it at Wisconsin and Auburn. We can play with the best. We just have to keep fighting through it and good things will happen.”

Big names comprise the Buffalo schedule and Scott believes big plays will define the performance of the 2007 Bulls.

“Our biggest thing is defensively, we can’t give up as many big plays,” Scott said. “No team that we’re going to play are bums so big plays are going to happen but we have to minimize the amount of big plays. Offensively, we have to maximize the number of big plays we can get because those are game changers right there.”

With the right combination, Scott sees the possibility of becoming the talk of the Mid-American Conference, succeeding far beyond expectations, and obtaining a conference title that has eluded the Bulls since joining the MAC.

“I’d definitely love to win a MAC championship,” Scott said. “It’s right there. You see it every year, a different MAC program that has turned their program around and gotten to the top.”

Story written by Jennifer Gillan

04/03/2007