Penn State Sports Magazine
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2 0 1 8 S E A S O N P R E V I E W
ously I aspire to contribute and be a huge
asset and lead the defense like they were
able to do."
This
past spring, Franklin cited Scott as
possibly the best-conditioned athlete on
the team. The coaching staff uses an all-
purpose measurement called a "T score"
to quantify players' overall physical fit-
ness. "It's a combination of the power
clean, squat, bench press, vertical jump,
40-yard dash and body weight," Franklin
said. Scott's number was the team's best,
"so you could make the argument that
Nick Scott is the best athlete that we have
on our team from a testing perspective."
Scott had been a versatile, athletic
prospect in high school, playing running
back, quarterback, wide receiver, line-
backer and, briefly, safety at Fairfax. But
when he was assigned classmate Mark
Allen as a training partner during his
freshman year with the Nittany Lions, his
competitive instincts kicked into over-
drive, as did Allen's.
"We would put on more weight than
what
was required on our card, if he had a
higher weight than me and vice versa,"
Scott said. "Once we started doing that
our freshman year, that really molded us
and shaped how we approached the
weight room for a long time."
Scott played in 36 games during his first
three seasons of eligibility, but he made
only one start on defense during his two
years as a safety, filling in against Mary-
land last November after Apke received a
targeting penalty the previous week vs.
Nebraska.
While he's had to show considerable pa-
tience at Penn State, it feels to him as
though the time has flown by. There have
been some sharp turns, and not just ath-
letically. He came to University Park ex-
pecting to study psychology, with an eye
toward becoming a sports psychologist.
But that's no longer the plan. "As we walk
through this thing called college, we come
in
thinking we're going to do one thing,"
he said, "and then by the time we leave,
it's a complete 180." Scott now wants to
work in human resources, a field where he
will be employable no matter where he
goes next. "Everybody needs an HR de-
partment," he said.
But his football career isn't over just yet.
He's got, at minimum, 12 more games in
which to make his mark on Penn State, and
while he said he's happy with the decisions
he's made over the course of his career,
he's not satisfied with what he's accom-
plished. "I always want more and strive for
more," he said. "But it's been a great ride.
The relationships I've built have been
amazing and like no other, and I'm really
just looking forward to the end of my ca-
reer and ending it on a high note."
■
Franklin said he would have been ready
to go if Penn State had played a real
game this past spring – and Oruwariye
looks ready to step up at the opposite
spot. The senior was essentially a third
starter last year, and his statistics re-
=ected that status, as he led the team
and was tied for third in the Big Ten with
four interceptions. Behind those two are
a number of promising young players
such as Castro-Fields, McPhearson and
Johnson. McPhearson was one of the
stars of the Blue-White Game, breaking
up a game-high three passes while going
up against Trace McSorley and the pro-
jected