By Malcolm Butler
Zhy Scott has a knack for making big plays.
Ruston High basketball coach Ryan Bond remembers a key defensive play Scott made late in a one-point win over Ouachita last season when the Bearcats were on their way to claiming the district title.
Now, the 6-foot-3, 210-pound Scott is making big plays for the Bearcats on the football field.
After choosing only to play basketball during his first two years in high school, Scott decided to put the pads on this fall.
Ruston football head coach Jerrod Baugh is glad he did.
“Zhy just came to us,” said Baugh. “This was something he wanted to do. He always knew that we wanted him out here coming over from junior high. I think he knew the basketball team was going to be really good and he wanted to concentrate on that, but I think he saw that we could use him out here this year.”
Bond and Baugh both pointed to the fact that the Bearcat football and basketball players lift weights together during the spring. Both coaches felt this helped lead to Scott’s decision.
And Bond said he supports the decision by the big man 100 %.
“We’ve had conversations (about playing other sports) before,” said Bond. “If you want to do both, go for it. I encouraged them all to run track (in the spring). There was no sit-down conversation. I talked to Coach (Earl) Griffin and he said Zhy was talking about playing football this fall. I said, ‘Hey that’s great.’ I know Coach Griffin was really high on him, and excited for the opportunity to coach him.”
It hasn’t taken Scott long to make his mark on the football field with that big play ability. During the third quarter of Friday night’s 25-19 overtime loss to Warren Easton, Scott outmuscled an Eagles defensive back for a ball and then ran 76 yards to paydirt to give the Bearcats a 13-6 lead.
“I think the big catch and run he made was really contested,” said Baugh. “There was a lot of competition to catch that football. Then you saw the acceleration with him after he made the catch.
“I think that’s indicative of what he can bring to the team. He is a tight end that is a good blocker for us whenever we have him attached to the formation, but you can split him out and do some different things with him which makes it hard for defenses to prepare for.”
Scott totaled four receptions for 111 yards and the one score during the contest. His first catch came on third down and 10 from the Warren Easton 30-yard line on the first possession of the game as he shed a couple of tackles and powered his way for a first down, eventually setting up a Dyson Fields 2-yard TD run and a 6-0 RHS advantage.
“He is only going to get better out there on the field, and I couldn’t be happier for him,” said Bond. “When he caught that pass last night and rumbled all the way down the field I was excited for him. I saw a couple of his basketball teammates afterwards, and they were excited for him. He earns it by his work ethic.”
Both Baugh and Bond point to Scott’s physical nature as a huge benefit on both the gridiron and the court. And if the first few weeks of the season are any indication, including the scrimmage against Byrd and the jamboree against West Monroe, Bearcat quarterback Jaden Osborne has already developed a chemistry with his big tight end target.
Scott has the potential to be another big offensive weapon in the Bearcats offense; a physical one..
“Just the athleticism that he brings to the table and the physicality,” said Baugh. “Finding guys like that … they’re hard to find. He is a guy that you can ask to block a defensive end and then you split him out wide and you throw him the ball and he can run off with it. You just don’t find that a lot.”
“He has tremendous physicality,” said Bond. “When we go into a game, and we have scouting reports and we say this team is physical, his eyes light up. Or if I see the officiating crew and say, ‘hey, I think these officials will let you play a little bit,’ he thrives in that type of environment.
Scott came off the bench as a sophomore for the Bearcats basketball team, serving a role in a three-man rotation inside. However, Bond expects him to have a much bigger role this winter.
“Zhy is a really good athlete,” said Bond. “He works, works, works. He works hard in the weight room. He works hard on the court. He works hard on the field. He was a little over shadowed for us last year because he didn’t get major minutes. But he had impactful minutes every time he got into a game for us. I expect him to be in the starting lineup once he gets back with us after football and gets into basketball shape.”
Despite being described as “very quiet” by his coaches, Scott’s play-making ability on both the hardwood and the gridiron has been pretty dang loud.
“He doesn’t talk much,” said Baugh. “He’s a really nice kid, and he’s always going to speak to you … probably a one word deal. He may give you a fist bump as he walks through the door. Always has a smile on his face. Good attitude about going to work everyday. Anybody like that, you can point in the right direction football-wise and get him to help your football team.”
And help appears to be exactly what Zhy Scott is going to do for the Bearcats this fall.
