Cowboys Sign Rookie CB Eric Scott Jr. to $4 Million Contract Ahead of Minicamp
The Dallas Cowboys traded up to pick Southern Mississippi cornerback Eric Scott Jr. in the sixth round of this year's NFL Draft, but why?
Scott was never a surefire NFL player like ballhawk Cowboy Trevon Diggs, who played at college football juggernaut Alabama. Instead, he followed a unique path that included stints at Illinois State, Butler Community College [where DeMarcus Lawrence and Michael Gallup played], and Southern Miss, a non-power five school.
In fact, Scott wasn’t even invited to the Senior Bowl or the NFL Scouting Combine. At his pro day, he pulled a quad muscle causing him to run a 40-yard dash in 4.72 seconds, but it was this stroke of bad luck that inspired him to take an even more unconventional route to impress scouts ... YouTube.
After recovering from his pulled quad, Scott hired a videographer, to record him doing the defensive back workouts and drills he was robbed of completing at his pro day, uploaded it on YouTube, and sent the link to the Dallas staff.
Now, like celebrity boxer Jake Paul, Scott is looking to prove he's more than a YouTuber. He’s a professional athlete and has proven as much in every opportunity earned thus far in his career.
And it worked. He will participate in this weekend Minicamp at The Star after having signed his rookie slotted four-year $4 million contract on Thursday.
While playing for Southern Miss, Scott earned praise from head coach Will Hall.
"If you're ever around him, he's the epitome of our culture,” Hall said, per DallasCowboys.com. “He really wakes up every day and chooses his attitude and chooses to respond the right way, no matter what the circumstances are," Hall said.
During an upset against Tulane - which finished 2022 ranked No. 9 in CFB - last September, Scott represented that culture well, balling out and scoring a pick-six against a high-level opponent that went on to win the Cotton Bowl.
He would continue to impress coaches and scouts at the Shrine Bowl, locking up power-five receivers and getting top-30 visits for five teams, including the Cowboys, where he made a strong impression on defensive backs coach Al Harris, as said by USA Today.
“Everybody I talked to,” Harris said, “I’d tell them, ‘I want to coach this guy.'”
Harris got his wish and will now be able to coach the athletically gifted 24-year-old. When healthy, the 6-2, 202-pound corner with an 80-plus inch wingspan, reportedly ran a forty-yard dash in 4.42 seconds, recorded a 39-inch vertical and 11-foot, 1-inch broad jump.
Now officially a member of the organization, the Cowboys hope that the selection of Scott proves to be the Jake Paul-esque knockout selection that pushes the team over the hump and secures its sixth Super Bowl victory.
You can follow Isaiah DeAnda Delgado on Twitter and Instagram @IsaiahDDelgado.
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