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L.J. Scott delivering on expectations for Michigan State just in time
While the nation got to know L.J. Scott on Saturday night during Michigan State's epic game-winning drive in the Big Ten Championship Game, there was at least one person sitting at home seeing something familiar.
And as the Spartans leaned heavily on Scott during a 22-play drive that ended with him stretching the ball over the goal line for the touchdown that gave MSU a 16-13 win over Iowa, Brian Hoffman was filled with pride.
And maybe a sense of deja vu.
That's because Hoffman watched Scott run for 2,819 yards and 38 touchdowns as a senior at Hubbard High School in northeast Ohio, where Hoffman is the coach, in the fall of 2014.
"To see him on that platform and stage, I was thinking to myself as I was watching the game, 'A year ago he was running against high school opponents and a year later he's running against that high-caliber competition,'" Hoffman told FOX Sports. "It's just very impressive to watch."
Scott finished the night in Indianapolis with 73 yards on 22 carries, including 14 on the drive that will go down in Michigan State history as the one that sent the Spartans to the College Football Playoff for the first time.
When the season started, it would not have been crazy to predict Scott would play a major role for the Spartans.
A four-star recruit, Scott arrived in East Lansing to high expectations.
But coach Mark Dantonio's backfield was deep, and Scott had to deal with a lot of competition for carries. He also had to battle a nagging injury or two and get over a bout of fumble-tis through the course of the year.
Scott was part of the platoon that battered Ohio State for 203 rushing yards in a 17-14 upset win in Columbus on Nov. 21, though, and he took center stage in Indianapolis two weeks later.
If those on the outside were concerned about Scott's mental state leading up to the end of the season, though, Hoffman wasn't.
"No I'll be honest with you, he's a pretty composed individual," said Hoffman, who was in touch with his former star regularly this fall. "I'm sure he had some times when he was down a little bit, but for the most part he's a pretty positive individual.
"He just messaged every week that he was going to keep plugging away and getting better. Working hard at practice. And he was able to kind of persevere."
Michigan State is not the first place Scott, who ran for a team-high 691 yards and 11 touchdowns this season, made a strong early impression.
Hoffman said he could tell early on he had something special on his hands.
"Freshman year he made some plays that you knew right away he was going to be on people's radar screen and sure enough by his sophomore year (college) coaches started to inquire and come in and visit and talk to him," Hoffman said. "It was pretty obvious early on he has a special skill set for football."
And, naturally, Scott's high school coach was not caught off guard by the impact he had on college football in 2015.
"The the physical-type runner that he has been in his career so far, it doesn't surprise me he was able to step in and help their team," Hoffman said of the 6-foot, 233-pounder. "To be honest with you, aside from the physicalness and the way he runs he really is athletic. He plays light on his feet."
And Scott might just be getting started.
"I don't even know if he's been able to show it, but he has great hands and made a number of plays for us out of the backfield trying to catch the football," Hoffman said. "He's got a great skill set and he goes about his business. He's always been good with all of us and his teammates in terms of being coachable and a good teammate."
