HAMILTON, N.Y.: Jordan Scott gets a lot of attention these days for a tailback from Colgate. Not all of it’s welcome.

NFL scouts regularly stop by Andy Kerr Stadium in bucolic central New York to take a closer look at the record-setting runner. Scott talks with them, sometimes watches film of his games and answers questions about family. And before each scout leaves, he asks Scott to explain why he spent 10 days in jail this summer.

“Every scout that I’ve come in contact with has asked me to tell them about it,” Scott said. “I guess they’re trying to get a better feel for me as a person.”

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Last December, after a weekend party carried on too long, Scott and teammate David Morgan were accused of breaking into a dorm room and rifling through a desk. According to a report by Hamilton village police, two female residents caught the players and confronted them. Scott and Morgan were arrested and charged with burglary, pleaded guilty in July, and were sentenced to 21 days in jail. It was the players’ first arrest.

“I was kind of surprised. That was awful severe punishment for that stuff,” Colgate coach Dick Biddle said. “But he kept his mouth shut and did it. People are always going to bring it up. That’s punishment enough.”

Scott and Morgan served 10 days in a dormitory-like setting in nearby Wampsville before being released.

“It was pretty traumatic. I let down my family, my coach,” said the 21-year-old Scott, who was suspended for the season-opener as part of his punishment from the university.

Opposing fans have been less forgiving, and Scott has responded by doing what he does best. He’s rushed for 971 yards on 170 carries and scored 11 touchdowns in the six games he’s played. That places him second overall in the Football Championship Subdivision at 161.8 yards per game, a half-yard behind leader David Sinisi of Monmouth.

“I think he’s an incredible football player,” Biddle said. “A lot of times players who have excelled in their first three years, when they get into their senior year they kind of lose that edge, get full of themselves. This is the best football he’s played since he’s been here.”

That’s saying something.

Scott is the FCS’s active leader in rushing yards (5,444), rushing yards per game (139.6), carries (1,189), carries per game (30.5), rushing touchdowns (53), and total points (334). He also leads in total touchdowns (55), all-purpose running yards (5,965), and all-purpose running plays (1,248). And he has surpassed Kenny Gamble to become Colgate’s all-time leading rusher.

Maybe Scott simply wanted to prove something because of that off-the-field mistake. He’s had to deal with some of the content on the Lehigh Football Nation blog, where various entries said Scott was a stalker, that people didn’t like him on campus, that he was a jerk once to a little kid, that he got a free pass on his bad behavior because of his athletic ability.

In the blink of an eye, Scott, a native of Hyattsville, Md., has gone from football star to blogosphere criminal.

“For all of the great things that I did (on the field) in the three years up to that point, I never received the amount of attention like I did when I did one wrong thing,” Scott said. “It was just amazing to see a lot of the stuff that was written, and it seemed like everyone in the world found it.

“But this one little thing won’t define who I am. It’s only made me stronger. That’s all I can take from it, just move on and put myself in the best position.”

So far, so good. Colgate (6-2, 2-0 Patriot League) is tied for first in the conference and Scott, despite a high ankle injury that’s kept him off the field for seven straight quarters, is on the Walter Payton Award watch list for the second consecutive year. He’s expected to return for this Saturday’s home game against Lafayette.

This season hasn’t been as easy as he’s made it look. At Fordham in September, Scott heard shouts of “jailbird” more than once during warmups.

“I was expecting that,” said Scott, who responded by rushing for a career-high 272 yards to set a Colgate record for most yards in two consecutive games (511). “All that stuff my mom and I talked about. We knew I would have to address it. I expect to get it from Lehigh, too.”

Scott is a 5-foot-11, 205-pound bruising runner who has done much of his damage in the fourth quarter throughout his college career. He’s 26 carries from the Division I record held by Steve Bartalo of Colorado State.

He also is poised to become just the 11th running back in college football’s top two divisions to have four 1,000-yard seasons.

“I think a lot of the individual goals I set out to achieve I’ve accomplished,” Scott said. “And I don’t have any animosity toward anyone. I still was able to rebound and come back stronger than maybe some people might have thought. Everything is a learning experience, and instead of being bitter about it, I can be better about it.”

Colgate’s Scott ready for more records
The Associated Press courtesy of the International Herald Tribune
http://www.iht.com/articles/ap/2008/10/29/sports/FBC-Colgate-Scott.php