01-10-2020, 02:17 PM
(This post was last modified: 01-12-2020, 03:46 PM by JKortesi81.)
Ryan Scott - The New Kid
So let me be the first to introduce Ryan Scott, a linebacker prospect coming up for draft in the DSFL. I’m Bruce Stark, and I work for the Milwaukee Daily Times. This is a story of a homegrown kid getting to live out his dream that started 16 years ago.
Ryan Scott was born in Milwaukee, Wisconsin to a divorced family. His father left when his mother was 6 months pregnant, and was largely absent in his early childhood.
He never had the nicest things, he never had the perfect family all his friends had, he never had the look of a successful kid. Everyone teased him for his hand me down clothes, for never having the newest toys, not being able to see all the new TV. It wore hard on a kid that tried so hard to fit in and be accepted to a group. As he got older and passed through his early years in elementary school, his mom asked him if he wanted to join a youth sport. One of the few things Ryan was always able to keep up on, was sports. It was what he and his mom and sister did on the weekends. In the summer they would listen to baseball on the radio, and in winter they would always watch football on sundays. Growing up in Wisconsin led him to be a Packers fan, and watching Aaron Rodgers dominate opposing defenses was a treat every Sunday. Going back to the question his mom asked him, he of course wanted to play sports. He always dreamed of becoming the next Aaron Rodgers or Christian Yelich, and this was his chance to get his start.
So early on he started with three sports, baseball, basketball, and football. Ryan was undersized in his elementary and the beginning of his middle school days, so playing sports was difficult. He was never the fastest, strongest, or tallest so he was often left on the bench or put in at the very end because every kid had to play. Something he had more than any other kid was often overlooked, the drive to be the best. He always worked hard, but it was never enough back then. Once he advanced to the higher age groups and hit 8th grade, he shot up and his build became much different. He went from the shortest to the tallest in a matter of a few months and the rest of his body caught up a couple months later. What was a short scrawny kid was all of a sudden a tall, lean muscular build that could be worked on. He left basketball behind, and turned his focus to baseball and football. Ryan was always working to be the best, and that starts to show here.
Ryan always worked hard, and that wasn’t just because he was at a physical disadvantage. Things at home were never easy, especially growing up in a divorced family. His parents were always fighting over something, mainly him and his sister. Who did what, who didn’t do that thing. Growing up with his mom and sister, Ryan never had that father figure in his life. Nobody was there to teach him how to play sports, or practice with him when he needed it. With everything going on, it was easy to get lost in sports. It was something that he could control, and something that he knew he could be good at. The instability in his life drove him into sports and that shows later on in high school and college. This wasn’t just a love for the game, it was a way to escape the clutches of real life and be happy.
In his freshman year he tried out for both baseball and football and made both squads. He was a catcher in baseball, but his height worked against him and he had a hard time blocking balls in the dirt. He was switched to the outfield, and his above average speed for his size worked well to his advantage. As for football, it was quickly found that his dream of being Aaron Rodgers wasn’t going to come true. He never really had the arm strength and accuracy to throw the football. With his height and above average speed, the coach advised he make a switch to linebacker. It was a natural fit for Ryan, and he excelled his freshman year leading the team in tackles and tackles for loss. When offseason hit, he decided to drop baseball in favor of focusing all of his attention on football. He hit the gym hard and started to work on building up strength in his arms and core. While he led the team in tackles, he still had an issue being able to bring down heavier running backs and elusive receivers. He worked closely with coaches in watching film to help him read plays and look for formations. They were all impressed with his ability to learn quickly and adapt to what was being put in front of him.
Sophomore and junior years were more of the same. Working to build his body and grow into the frame, and absorb as much about the game as he could. He again led the team in tackles and tackles for loss both years, and started to get some attention from college recruiters at the end of his junior year.
When his senior year started, he was always asked why he stuck with the sport during the early years. Everyone knew it was tough on him being undersized and not having the best cleats or equipment, and most kids would have quit out of frustration. Ryan’s answer is simple: “There are very few things in my childhood I was able to control. I didn’t get to choose my situation, I didn’t get to choose what I had. All I could control was how I reacted, and how I played the game. I wanted to show everyone that I could be better than what they thought I was, and even now at this point I have more to prove.”
His senior year ended with him leading his high school team to the state championship, where they won handily. Hoisting that trophy was only the first step for him, as he always wanted to take on that next challenge.
Ryan committed to Wisconsin to be a Badger. This was exciting for him as he got to keep playing the game he loved, and play for his hometown team. Once he got there, he was again undersized compared to some of the older players on the team and worked hard to get himself to an even playing field. He made it into every game that season in a limited capacity, but showed that drive could be an effective tool. He impressed coaches with the playing time that he had, which led to him being a starter his sophomore year. He took the reigns of the defense and led them every game. He always made sure to pick his teammates up and point out new things to them. Ryan could be found late at night in the video room alone looking at video of the past weeks and the next team coming up to try and improve his game, and at the same time the team. He led the team in tackles that year, and was a major reason for the Badgers defense being one of the best in the Big Ten. They didn’t make the championship game that year, and that drove Ryan to dive deep into study on what went wrong.
His Junior year would be his last in college, and he made everything of it. He again led the defense into battle every game, and they were the best defense in the Big Ten. Ryan led all of the NCAA in tackles, and tackles for loss. The Badgers made the Big Ten championship game against the Minnesota Gophers. This was a defensive battle, and a good one at that. The Gophers were led by another Linebacker that was a star, Holden Summers. Ryan always kept a close eye on Summers as he was better at pass coverage, and Ryan was always looking for places to improve. There’s nothing better than watching your peers and seeing how they react and move. The game came down to the final drive, Minnesota was down by 3 and driving into field goal range, looking to tie the game. With 43 seconds left on the clock, the Gophers ran the ball up the middle just to get a little bit easier of a kick. A defensive linemen was able to strip the ball, and Ryan pounced on it to secure the game for the Badgers.
The Big Ten was the Badgers, and the Axe came home with them. Celebrations were had and Ryan was able to soak it in for a few days, until he had another hard decision. Come back for another year, or declare for the DSFL draft?
Ryan made the choice to declare, and was immediately hit with criticism. He was too young, he still was undersized, he still had more to learn. This was nothing new to him, he had heard it all before.
Beware, DSFL. This isn’t the story of a kid who had the perfect upbringing and was always the best. This also isn’t the story of a kid with a tragedy. This is a story of a normal kid who had to deal with normal life things that most people don’t talk about. This is a story of a kid that was always expected to fail. A kid who was always the one left on the bench. This was a kid that poured everything he had into this game because it was the only thing that was stable in his life. Ryan Scott is ready for the next challenge, and nothing is going to stop him from being a dominating force on the field.
Give the new kid a chance, and he is going to work as hard as he can so prove you made the right choice.
(Ready for Grading)
So let me be the first to introduce Ryan Scott, a linebacker prospect coming up for draft in the DSFL. I’m Bruce Stark, and I work for the Milwaukee Daily Times. This is a story of a homegrown kid getting to live out his dream that started 16 years ago.
Ryan Scott was born in Milwaukee, Wisconsin to a divorced family. His father left when his mother was 6 months pregnant, and was largely absent in his early childhood.
He never had the nicest things, he never had the perfect family all his friends had, he never had the look of a successful kid. Everyone teased him for his hand me down clothes, for never having the newest toys, not being able to see all the new TV. It wore hard on a kid that tried so hard to fit in and be accepted to a group. As he got older and passed through his early years in elementary school, his mom asked him if he wanted to join a youth sport. One of the few things Ryan was always able to keep up on, was sports. It was what he and his mom and sister did on the weekends. In the summer they would listen to baseball on the radio, and in winter they would always watch football on sundays. Growing up in Wisconsin led him to be a Packers fan, and watching Aaron Rodgers dominate opposing defenses was a treat every Sunday. Going back to the question his mom asked him, he of course wanted to play sports. He always dreamed of becoming the next Aaron Rodgers or Christian Yelich, and this was his chance to get his start.
So early on he started with three sports, baseball, basketball, and football. Ryan was undersized in his elementary and the beginning of his middle school days, so playing sports was difficult. He was never the fastest, strongest, or tallest so he was often left on the bench or put in at the very end because every kid had to play. Something he had more than any other kid was often overlooked, the drive to be the best. He always worked hard, but it was never enough back then. Once he advanced to the higher age groups and hit 8th grade, he shot up and his build became much different. He went from the shortest to the tallest in a matter of a few months and the rest of his body caught up a couple months later. What was a short scrawny kid was all of a sudden a tall, lean muscular build that could be worked on. He left basketball behind, and turned his focus to baseball and football. Ryan was always working to be the best, and that starts to show here.
Ryan always worked hard, and that wasn’t just because he was at a physical disadvantage. Things at home were never easy, especially growing up in a divorced family. His parents were always fighting over something, mainly him and his sister. Who did what, who didn’t do that thing. Growing up with his mom and sister, Ryan never had that father figure in his life. Nobody was there to teach him how to play sports, or practice with him when he needed it. With everything going on, it was easy to get lost in sports. It was something that he could control, and something that he knew he could be good at. The instability in his life drove him into sports and that shows later on in high school and college. This wasn’t just a love for the game, it was a way to escape the clutches of real life and be happy.
In his freshman year he tried out for both baseball and football and made both squads. He was a catcher in baseball, but his height worked against him and he had a hard time blocking balls in the dirt. He was switched to the outfield, and his above average speed for his size worked well to his advantage. As for football, it was quickly found that his dream of being Aaron Rodgers wasn’t going to come true. He never really had the arm strength and accuracy to throw the football. With his height and above average speed, the coach advised he make a switch to linebacker. It was a natural fit for Ryan, and he excelled his freshman year leading the team in tackles and tackles for loss. When offseason hit, he decided to drop baseball in favor of focusing all of his attention on football. He hit the gym hard and started to work on building up strength in his arms and core. While he led the team in tackles, he still had an issue being able to bring down heavier running backs and elusive receivers. He worked closely with coaches in watching film to help him read plays and look for formations. They were all impressed with his ability to learn quickly and adapt to what was being put in front of him.
Sophomore and junior years were more of the same. Working to build his body and grow into the frame, and absorb as much about the game as he could. He again led the team in tackles and tackles for loss both years, and started to get some attention from college recruiters at the end of his junior year.
When his senior year started, he was always asked why he stuck with the sport during the early years. Everyone knew it was tough on him being undersized and not having the best cleats or equipment, and most kids would have quit out of frustration. Ryan’s answer is simple: “There are very few things in my childhood I was able to control. I didn’t get to choose my situation, I didn’t get to choose what I had. All I could control was how I reacted, and how I played the game. I wanted to show everyone that I could be better than what they thought I was, and even now at this point I have more to prove.”
His senior year ended with him leading his high school team to the state championship, where they won handily. Hoisting that trophy was only the first step for him, as he always wanted to take on that next challenge.
Ryan committed to Wisconsin to be a Badger. This was exciting for him as he got to keep playing the game he loved, and play for his hometown team. Once he got there, he was again undersized compared to some of the older players on the team and worked hard to get himself to an even playing field. He made it into every game that season in a limited capacity, but showed that drive could be an effective tool. He impressed coaches with the playing time that he had, which led to him being a starter his sophomore year. He took the reigns of the defense and led them every game. He always made sure to pick his teammates up and point out new things to them. Ryan could be found late at night in the video room alone looking at video of the past weeks and the next team coming up to try and improve his game, and at the same time the team. He led the team in tackles that year, and was a major reason for the Badgers defense being one of the best in the Big Ten. They didn’t make the championship game that year, and that drove Ryan to dive deep into study on what went wrong.
His Junior year would be his last in college, and he made everything of it. He again led the defense into battle every game, and they were the best defense in the Big Ten. Ryan led all of the NCAA in tackles, and tackles for loss. The Badgers made the Big Ten championship game against the Minnesota Gophers. This was a defensive battle, and a good one at that. The Gophers were led by another Linebacker that was a star, Holden Summers. Ryan always kept a close eye on Summers as he was better at pass coverage, and Ryan was always looking for places to improve. There’s nothing better than watching your peers and seeing how they react and move. The game came down to the final drive, Minnesota was down by 3 and driving into field goal range, looking to tie the game. With 43 seconds left on the clock, the Gophers ran the ball up the middle just to get a little bit easier of a kick. A defensive linemen was able to strip the ball, and Ryan pounced on it to secure the game for the Badgers.
The Big Ten was the Badgers, and the Axe came home with them. Celebrations were had and Ryan was able to soak it in for a few days, until he had another hard decision. Come back for another year, or declare for the DSFL draft?
Ryan made the choice to declare, and was immediately hit with criticism. He was too young, he still was undersized, he still had more to learn. This was nothing new to him, he had heard it all before.
Beware, DSFL. This isn’t the story of a kid who had the perfect upbringing and was always the best. This also isn’t the story of a kid with a tragedy. This is a story of a normal kid who had to deal with normal life things that most people don’t talk about. This is a story of a kid that was always expected to fail. A kid who was always the one left on the bench. This was a kid that poured everything he had into this game because it was the only thing that was stable in his life. Ryan Scott is ready for the next challenge, and nothing is going to stop him from being a dominating force on the field.
Give the new kid a chance, and he is going to work as hard as he can so prove you made the right choice.
(Ready for Grading)