Michigan State Football: Josiah Scott’s NFL decision surprising but deserved
Michigan State football lost a key contributor on Monday with junior cornerback Josiah Scott announcing his decision to forgo his senior season for the NFL.
It was the decision everyone felt would be coming sooner rather than later but hoped wouldn’t result in a departure until next year. Josiah Scott announced he would be forgoing his final year of eligibility to enter the NFL draft and chase his dream.
https://twitter.com/JosiahScott7/status/1211674947602599938?s=20
Scott’s decision was surprising given that he seemed like the kind of kid who would stick around for four years not because he didn’t have the talent to go pro, but because he had the potential to accomplish so much more than he had in three years, especially coming off back-to-back disappointing 7-6 seasons.
While it’s surprising he didn’t make an Antjuan Simmons-like declaration of a return, he deserved to go out on his terms. He was Michigan State’s best defensive back this season and essentially throughout his entire career — outside of one season of Justin Layne breaking out.
Scott played in 12 games this season, racking up a career-best 52 tackles and three interceptions to go along with six pass breakups. He was the Spartans’ most consistent performer in the defensive backfield and his production will be missed by a defense that will be revamped next season.
Coming to Michigan State as a three-star, underrated recruit, Scott’s teammates boasted about him. He even had fellow 2017 class members calling him a stud and stating that he would be the Spartans’ next Thorpe Award winner and that would have been possible in 2020, but he felt as if the NFL was calling him and — thinking unselfishly — he’s more than ready.
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The Ohio-native is going to make one NFL team happy in the spring as he’ll likely be a Day 2 or Day 3 pick with plenty of untapped potential.