Penn State Sports Magazine
Issue link: https://comanpub.uberflip.com/i/88420
stop. Scott's job, the pastor said, was to play football and get an education. That's what he was trained to do. Not preach. So Scott stopped. "That speaks to his willingness to seek proper guid- ance," his father said. Or, as Scott put it: "What if I had a dream to be a doctor? Just because my passion was to be a doctor, does that mean you should feel comfortable with me operating on you, that I should be allowed to operate on you, because I really believe that's my call?" The answer, clearly, was no. Scott left Penn State in 1995 as the Nittany Lions' record holder for passes caught in a game (13, and he still holds it today); he's still 13th on Penn State's all-time receiving list with 93 catches for 1,520 yards and 11 touch- downs. Then he went to the NFL, where he played four seasons, two with the At- lanta Falcons, one with the Indianapolis Colts and one with the Detroit Lions. In the off-season, he began taking classes at World of Faith International Christian, which conveniently had classes near Detroit, where he grew up, and in Atlanta, where he played. It took him three years to complete the two-year program, and Scott often had to miss voluntary off-season work- outs. Which wasn't a problem. "It's kinda tough to come down on you when you're in school in ministry," Scott said, laughing. "It's not like I'm just playing hooky." Scott was ordained, and he began working as a minister 11 years ago. He's still a full-time pastor, and he's transitioning to his role training men to be fathers. So far, he's mostly spoken as at the request of PTAs, school dis- tricts, the NFLPA, churches. In those events, he's part of the pro- gram. With Unlock the Champion, he's getting ready to plan his own regional events. His program focuses on what he calls the "four Ls": Lift yourself up. Love your spouse. Lead your children. Leave a legacy. Scott divides men into three cate- gories: legacy starter, legacy builder, legacy sustainer. The first category is particularly important: Said Scott, "That's just a lot better than saying you're fatherless." Every man can improve, said Scott, who appeals to men's competitive in- stincts. "What I'm doing right now, it doesn't matter what happened yester- day or didn't happen yesterday. The only thing that matters is what is hap- pening right now." His football background helps, too. He tells men in his workshops to think about what a football coach would say to his team if it were down 10 points – would he yell at the players and tell him how terrible they are, or would he gather them around and diagram the plays that would help them get back in the game? "Every guy I've talked with so far," Scott said, "that has resonated with." Scott is married with five children; "obviously," he said, laughing, "I get a lot of great content from my kids." He has one girl and four boys, one of whom recently caught three passes, including two touchdowns, in his team's football game. "Penn State's gonna have some nice recruiting classes com- ing through the ranks," Scott said. That kind of legacy means a lot to him – and to his father. Both Freddie Scotts played in the NFL. Both are or- dained ministers; Scott Sr. is an asso- ciate minister at Liberty Hill Baptist Church in Little Rock, Ark., where he moved last summer. And Scott Sr. discovered by moving back to Arkansas that his father had been a Sunday school teacher, a trustee of his church. He's proud that he and his son are carrying on that legacy. "It's a great amount of joy that comes over me," Scott Sr. said. "It goes without saying that I'm thankful for the deci- sions my son made early and how it's paying off now."