Speed. That’s the primary phrase on each scouting report for Chicago Bears rookie extensive receiver Tyler Scott. A fifth-round choose in final month’s draft, Scott was a Junior Olympian in monitor as a child along with being a burner as a highschool working again.
After he bought to varsity at Cincinnati, he transformed to extensive receiver and final season produced 54 catches, 899 yards and 9 touchdowns for the Bearcats.
The Bears felt lucky to pick out Scott as late as they did (No. 133) and envision him changing into a dynamic weapon for quarterback Justin Fields. Former Cincinnati receivers coach Mike Brown, who’s now at Wisconsin, can’t say sufficient about Scott’s pace and strategy to the sport.
Brown spoke to the Tribune not too long ago to relay his expertise with Scott and provide perception on the rookie’s talent set. Here’s that interview, edited for readability.
Note: This is a part of a sequence of conversations with the faculty place coaches of this 12 months’s Bears draft picks.
Whenever anybody talks about Tyler, the very first thing they point out is that pace. As somebody who was round that as a lot as you had been, how would you describe the pace he performs with?
It’s totally different, man. He’s actually explosive. He is a man who, as soon as he will get out in entrance, he’s not getting caught. He has that means to separate, to rise up on defenders’ toes actually quick. I didn’t know what he was going to run in his 40(-yard sprint). But I do know if you press play on the tape, he was positively enjoying at a special pace than a number of the blokes we had been enjoying in opposition to. He’s particular, man. Special. He’s enjoyable to be round and enjoyable to observe.
He has talked about changing his monitor pace into helpful soccer pace, first as a working again after which as a receiver. How did you see him evolve in his means to make use of his pace functionally?
That was in all probability the factor I used to be most impressed with. Coming out of highschool, he was a working again and a giant monitor man. But he labored his tail off to determine the right way to truly use that pace and have the ability to begin and cease and do some issues like that the place you’ll be able to get out and in of breaks. And then he needed to learn to transfer defenders and set totally different routes up.
Watching that development over the past three years has been enjoyable. And Tyler is the kind of child the place something you problem him with or something you give him to do, if you happen to give him nice purpose behind it and he sees it as being useful for him, he’s going to determine it out. He’s that kind of child.
He has cited you many instances concerning the expansion he made utilizing his eyes as a receiver. How would you describe that and a number of the belongings you emphasised with him?
There are simply little nuances that as he bought older we had been in a position to dive deeper into. It’s strategies in promoting totally different routes and understanding the issues that he might do. You’re speaking about all the little issues {that a} (defensive again) goes to take a look at, proper? A DB is simply ready so that you can placed on what we’ll name flip alerts. You begin to lean a method otherwise you begin to give one thing away too quickly, they’re on it. So now it turns from a sport of checkers right into a sport of chess as you begin to evolve. And as you begin to play in opposition to higher defenders, these higher defenders are on the lookout for and in a position to determine extra little issues.
With Tyler, he does an ideal job along with his physique language and never giving issues away. And then he took this to a brand new stage by utilizing his eyes to promote totally different routes when it was applicable. Coming out of highschool, it’s the outdated “I’m looking up really, really high.” But no person goes to purchase that stuff in faculty if you’re making an attempt to promote the go route on a comeback. But it’s taking that and making it really feel actual and tying various things that he has finished with the extra vertical stuff into the beneath issues. He did an ideal job there of simply adapting and utilizing the little strategies and tidbits.
He used the time period “actor” as one thing he tried to grasp as a route runner. Is that one thing you subscribe to?
Absolutely. Absolutely. You attempt to be the most effective actor within the enterprise.
In Tyler’s transition from working again to receiver, what was essentially the most tough a part of studying to play that new place on the stage he wanted to play it?
I had an identical course the place I used to be transitioning from quarterback and needed to be taught to play receiver (at Liberty). So I believe we had been in a position to join on that and I used to be in a position to talk with Tyler on a special stage as a result of I knew a number of the issues that gave me points early on. I attempted to make use of these to assist him.
One of the massive issues that we don’t actually take into consideration — particularly with a man like Tyler who stretches the sphere and is working down the sphere — is monitoring the soccer constantly. I do know once I first went on the market and I’d be working and the ball could be approaching a deep ball and unexpectedly it seems just like the ball is transferring in every single place since you’re making an attempt to run so arduous. So you must learn to run clean. You must be taught to get used to monitoring the ball within the air.
That was the very first thing he needed to get used to, particularly along with his pace. Because he’s at all times going to be a man who’s happening the sphere a bunch. But then secondly it’s simply that complete route-running piece, which is model new if you’ve been a working again and have by no means actually break up out. It’s having to beat press protection and understanding all of the little nuances that come together with it.
With the route-running piece, what do you sense would be the preliminary hurdles he’ll have to beat as he makes the massive leap?
I believe it’s simply enjoying in opposition to defensive backs who perceive all the pieces. Those guys are simply so sensible they usually react a lot sooner they usually research a lot movie. Half the time they know what you’re working primarily based off your break up and your offense’s tendencies. It’s down and distance and that sport inside the sport. So now it’s having to be inventive and studying the right way to fight that.
And then for him, if he sees press protection each play now, he has to determine that out. He performed extra to the sphere for us and didn’t see a ton of it. In follow, we made positive to provide him an excellent bit of labor at it and it was one thing he appreciated. So I don’t suppose that might be an enormous challenge for him. But now these are higher defensive backs, smarter defensive backs at that stage.
He’ll go in opposition to guys who’ve been enjoying skilled soccer since he was in center faculty. So to suppose he’s going to go on the market and do one thing that man has by no means seen earlier than is form of loopy. So it’s counting on his fundamentals and studying the right way to enhance his response time. Because their response time is sharp. It might be massive for him to get used to that.
You had a man at Cincinnati in Alec Pierce who made the NFL transition and did properly out of the gates. He and Tyler are totally different receivers solely and might be on totally different paths. But is there any comparability when it comes to their growth in faculty or their NFL readiness?
The solely actual comparability is their pace. Both have nice pace down the sphere. Development-wise, they had been form of related in some methods in that Alec didn’t play a ton of receiver both in highschool. He was a decent finish however he by no means actually break up out and needed to run routes. He was extra used to monitoring the ball, however when it got here to the route-running piece, that was one thing he needed to be taught too. I believe it got here extra pure to Tyler than it did to Alec. He was extra of a pure route runner and made a extra pure transition.
But there have been similarities there. And I’ll inform you what, I’m going to overlook having each of these guys. They made me seem like a a lot better coach. Those are the sorts of youngsters you dream of teaching.
Tyler described his endurance in faculty and the steps he climbed, beginning as a task man, then making an attempt to determine the place he match within the offense to then growing the go-to man swagger final season. What did you see from a psychological standpoint of him climbing that ladder?
Tyler was positively a task man at greatest two years in the past. And I’ll always remember, we had been happening to the (American Athletic Conference) championship sport and we get into the two-minute drill and we throw the ball out to him. He didn’t have a ton of targets that 12 months. But we’re happening to win the sport, we throw him a ball, he catches it, turns up the sphere, will get additional yards, picks up the primary down and it’s like a light-weight went on. He by no means blinked. Just like, “All right. Yeah. I expect to make those plays.” Not that it was a spectacular catch. But in these moments, typically younger gamers shrink back from it. At that point, he wasn’t even a starter. So to observe him go from that and see the place he ended up final season? Incredible.
Even coming into final season, we knew Tyler was an excellent participant. But Alec was clearly the man when he was there. So who was going to take that position over? We didn’t know going into the season. We had Tyler and we had Tre Tucker within the slot and one other man on the opposite facet and we needed to see all of it play out. Then Tyler continued to raise and elevate and you might see the arrogance develop.
With a number of the catches he was making and the issues he was doing after the catch, it was actually particular watching it. We bought to the purpose the place he was residing for these massive moments in video games. And when the sport was on the road, all of us knew he needed the ball. That’s an ideal feeling to have as a coach the place you understand this child isn’t going to shrink back from the scenario. It doesn’t imply he’s going to make each play. Nobody does. But mentality-wise, he made a lot progress there in such little time.
After our third or fourth sport, a scout requested me if Tyler had considered leaving early. I had the dialog with him: “You ever thought about leaving early?” He was like, “Coach, that never crossed my mind.” That was the primary time he ever considered it. He was so centered on what is true in entrance of him and stays locked into that. We agreed to revisit that at our bye week and once more on the finish of the 12 months. And clearly he continued to develop and produce and finally made that call.
He went from no person to leaving early for the NFL in a really, very fast turnaround.
We’re nonetheless attending to know Tyler right here but it surely appears like he has a contagious vitality and charisma. As somebody who has been round him quite a bit, how do you describe that magnetism he appears to have that’s arduous to quantify however simple to really feel?
That’s precisely proper. I describe him as so even-keeled. He doesn’t ever panic. He by no means will get too excessive or too low. But he’s not an individual that you simply don’t really feel, which is odd. Some guys will be very stoic however you don’t really feel their vitality in any respect. Tyler is a man who just isn’t going to say a ton, however you at all times really feel him and guys gravitate towards him. He has a kind of personalities that’s magnetic.
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Source: www.bostonherald.com