Matt Scott will be ready to let it fly at the NFL combine this weekend. Photo by Russ Isabella-US PRESSWIRE
Former Arizona Wildcats quarterback Matt Scott is headed to Indianapolis today for a job interview years in the making.
What will be his pitch to teams at the NFL combine?
“My competitive nature, I think, is unmatched,” Scott said on KJR radio in Seattle on Tuesday.
“I’m a big competitor. I like to go out and lay it on the line every play, every down. I have great arm talent. I can do pretty well on the move, can be mobile at times. I think I’ll be a great fit for any offense.”
NFLDraftScout.com projects Scott as a fifth-round pick in a down year for elite quarterback prospects. Scott, a second-team All-Pac-12 selection in 2012, has intriguing physical skills with the potential for ample growth, considering he only started one full season in college.
Whether he can handle a more complex NFL playbook and make deeper reads under fire are questions he and other quarterbacks coming from a college spread system have to begin to answer.
“We put up a lot of big numbers,” Scott said of Rich Rodriguez’s offense last season, “but it was kind of basic.”
Scott is one of 16 quarterbacks at the combine. They will be put through on-field testing on Sunday.
He told KJR he is hoping to run the 40-yard dash as fast as the mid-4.5-second range … or at least in the low 4.6s.
As for arm strength?
“Honestly,” he said, “I think I have the strongest arm in this coming class.”
Scott, who was listed at 6-foot-3 at Arizona, measured 6-1 3/4 and 202 pounds at the East-West Shrine Game last month.
He was been working on his throwing fundamentals in San Diego with quarterback guru George Whitfield, whose recent clients includes Cam Newton, Andrew Luck, Robert Griffin III, Russell Wilson, Colin Kaepernick and 2012 Heisman winner Johnny Manziel.
Scott added that he also is consulting with former San Diego State and NFL quarterback Kevin O’Connell.
“He’s been helping me a lot with the mental aspect of it,” Scott said.
Scott completed 301 of 499 passes for 3,620 yards, with 27 touchdowns and 14 interceptions last season. He ran for 506 yards.
For now, he’s considered a quarterback that NFL teams could stash away for a couple of years while trying to develop Scott’s upside.
“I’m kind of taking it day by day,” Scott said of where he might get taken in the draft. “I’m not too concerned with where I go.”
Here is the segment on KJR (the Scott interview starts at the 2:50 mark):