Rookies don’t often become leaders in Year 1, but Rams safety Nick Scott is already discussing how he can lead by example right out of the gate. He was a special teams captain at Penn State and a valuable player on defense in 2018, emerging as a leader in the secondary despite only being a one-year starter.
In an interview after Wednesday’s practice, Scott talked about being a leader and how he plans to be one when he gets acclimated in the NFL.
“I pride myself as a leader,” Scott said. “I think I have great leadership skills and I know right now I’m learning the ropes and taking everything step by step, but when I’m part of this team and fully acclimated, I plan to be a positive voice for this team and do the right things on the field and off the field.”
Some rookies come in wide-eyed and star struck, but not Scott. He looks like a seasoned veteran and talks like one too, as evidenced by his confidence that he’ll be a leader at some point in the near future.
That’s not often a topic discussed by rookies, especially for seventh-round picks like Scott.
“For now I’d probably just be a lead by example guy, but once I get a little more clout with the team, then I’ll start to speak up,” Scott said of how he’ll lead.
Initially, Scott will undoubtedly contribute on special teams, which is his best asset. He stayed in touch with Rams special teams coordinator John Fassel throughout the pre-draft process with Fassel going as far as to say Scott is one of his favorite special teams players he’s ever studied.
It’ll take an injury or surprise cut for Scott to carve out a role on defense at safety, but he’ll get reps in the secondary, nonetheless.
