COLUMBUS – They might not have been as strenuous as what Ohio State strength and conditioning guru Mickey Marotti devises, but freshman wide receiver Gee Scott Jr. is no stranger to early morning workouts.
His father, Gee Scott Sr., used to wake him up for 6 a.m. workouts before school when he was growing up in Sammamish, Wash., around 20 miles east of downtown Seattle. And when he finished his homework after school, his dad – who played college basketball at Tri-State College in Angola, Ind., before it became Trine University – would take him to a fitness club to play basketball against adults.
So Scott, a 4-star recruit who enrolled at Ohio State in January, was already used to working hard before he got to Columbus.
What he took a while to get acclimated to, though, was the three-hour time difference between the west coast and Ohio.
“The first week or two was tough, especially the time. Getting up at five o’clock is like two o’clock (back home). But I’m starting to get adjusted now, feeling smooth,” Scott said during an interview before the beginning of spring practice.
“It’s definitely a change. Considering I was in high school about a month and a half ago, they throw you right into the fire. You’re either going to sink or swim,” he said.
Scott is one of four highly rated wide receivers in OSU’s 2020 recruiting class. Julian Fleming is rated the No. 1 recruit at receiver in the country. Jaxon Smith-Njigbo is No. 5, Scott is No. 10 and Mookie Cooper is No. 16.
Chris Olave (15 touchdown catches in his last 17 games) and former 5-star Garrett Wilson (30 catches last season as a freshman) are the Buckeyes’ top receivers. But one or more of the freshmen could get into the receiver rotation if they grow up fast.
Scott says he has been impressed by what he has seen from his fellow freshman receivers.
“It’s amazing. Shoot, I had an understanding that dudes would be talented, but I’m still blown away. They continue to impress me every day,” he said.
It is extremely rare for Ohio State to sign a recruit from Washington. Scott is only the second player from there to sign with OSU and the other one was Kevin Griffin, a nephew of two-time Heisman Trophy winner Archie Griffin.
Seeing how receivers have developed at Ohio State played big role in Scott’s decision to go 2,400 miles away from home to play college football. He had offers from Washington, Arizona, LSU, Notre Dame and several other top programs.
“That definitely helps when you see the results of what this program can do for somebody,” Scott said.
“You see a Mike Thomas come in, not a highly recruited guy, and now you see what he’s doing in the NFL. Same thing with Chris Olave. Not the highest recruited guy, but he comes in here and they develop him. Once you go through this system you come out on a different level.”
If Scott does make it to the NFL someday, it won’t the first connection with pro football in his family.
Before his dad became a radio personality in Seattle, he owned a car detailing business. Through his friendship with the Seattle Seahawks’ equipment manager, he began working on the cars of several of the players and coaches, including Mike Holmgren, Pete Carroll and Russell Wilson.
You might say both father and son had a drive to succeed.
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