Former college and NFL standout safety Guss Scott is now the coach at his alma mater, Trinity Christian in Jacksonville, Fla. The former Florida Gator safety knows a thing or two about football, and now wants to help mold some future talent.
This past weekend, Guss Scott served as the defensive backs coach on Keiwan Ratliff’s “Top Recruit” team at the IMG 7 on 7 tournament. After losing in the regional tournament and failing to qualify for the National Tournament, Scott joined forces with Ratliff’s team and brought along some of his players, including 2014 Florida Gator commitment JC Jackson.
On “Top Recruit”, Scott was able to coach three of the most highly sought after defensive backs in the country – 2014 Florida Gator commitment JC Jackson, 2014 Florida Gator commitment Duke Dawson and 2015 LSU commitment Kevin Toliver II.
With his experience and knowledge, Scott commented on what each top prospect brought to the table already. When asked about Dawson, Scott responded, “The first thing that jumps out to me is his body – his strength. This kid lives in the weight room and he is physically built for the game of football. You look at him and he is built like a redshirt sophomore. He is serious about the weight room, but plays real good ball, too. He has great technique and is very physical at the line. You just don’t find kids like him at this age, this young.”
Scott was also quick to praise JC Jackson, “He is definitely a guy that can play both ways in college (receiver or cornerback). He is elusive on offense and a great cover guy on defense. Just put him on the field. Guys like him can play whatever position he wants. He will do well in whatever position he plays in college.”
Finally, when asked about his star outside cornerback Kevin Toliver II, whom at times played like the best player at the tournament, he said, “I think he is a great outside corner, good technique, good size. Him, Duke and JC all specialize in different things, and he did well covering the outside. He is tall and physical. Kevin has had a lot of early successes and he needs to stay hard, stay humble, and focus on details. You can never work too much on technique. He needs, they all do, to keep working on what he knows now and not develop bad habits.”
He did offer some advice to the three, and to any college bound prospect, “They need keep working hard, humble their heart, and not read what people have to say about them. They need to stay focused on the goal.”
Scott did say that coaching at a 7 on 7 tournament was a great way to give back, “We didn’t have this (7-on-7 National Tournaments) growing up, so we want to allow these kids to get a better shot and really develop their skills. They are going up against real college level talent at these events and it’s great for these young kids.”