The first game of college football brings a sense of remembrance. The smoke rising from the BBQs outside the stadium, the scent of field and the sounds of thousands of like-minded fans cheering bring a rush of memories of days of yore. It’s a day fans are reminded how much they have missed the sport.
A season ago, in Utah’s opening game against Utah State, Kenneth Scott was reminded of something entirely different.
During the Utes’ second drive of the game, Scott was blocking for teammate Kelvin York. York was tackled and, as the tailback fell to the ground, he rolled up Scott’s left ankle, taking the receiver down. The unfortunate collision left Scott on the field, grabbing at his aching ankle.
One thought entered his mind, “Not again, are you serious?”
During Utah’s 2010 fall camp, Scott injured his right ankle and was forced to redshirt that year. The injury he sustained against Utah State felt the same.
“It was a different ankle, but same thing,” Scott said. “But I also broke my fibula with it.”
Scott, unable to put weight on the injured ankle, was helped off the field by teammates and was eventually carted off to the locker room.
He didn’t play another down in 2013.
Fueled by the fact he had overcome the injury once, Scott knew he could do it again.
“The doctor came in and told me it was going to be like last time and you just got to grind harder this time,” Scott said. “I said, ‘Alright lets do it then’.”
The work started.
Scott was in a cast for three months and used a knee scooter to move around. When the cast was removed, there was no feeling of liberation for the receiver. Instead, Scott was handed a pair of crutches. With time, Scott started slowly walking. Then he started jogging in a pool. Eventually Scott began running and cutting on the field.
In the middle of Scott’s recovery, it was discovered that his teammate and quarterback, Travis Wilson, had a preexisting condition to his intracranial artery that put the signal caller’s career in jeopardy.
Scott and Wilson have been close ever since Wilson came in as a freshman two seasons ago. The friends envisioned the 2013 season filled with touchdown celebrations. Instead, they both ended up watching from the sideline.
“Me and Travis have always been close,” Scott said. “The injury definitely made us closer. I remember when he first got the news, we went out to sushi.”
To Scott, his challenge to return paled in comparison to Wilson’s.
“A head injury is definitely different than an ankle injury,” Scott said “An ankle injury, I can come back from it, but a head injury — that’s kind of hard to come back from.”
During spring ball, both Wilson and Scott were limited, but by the end of fall camp the teammates were going full speed and full contact. The trials of 2013 are now nothing more than a distant memory.
With the duo fully active, they began turning heads. Scott excelled as both a slot and wide receiver in camp, while Wilson regained his starting quarterback spot.
The return to form of the two friends could provide a spark the Ute offense was lacking last season.
Scott is happy to be healthy once again, but he feels just as blessed to have Wilson back under center.
“It’s definitely good to have Travis back,” Scott said. “He knows the ropes. He’s been through it all here, the ups and the downs. Just having him back is good, because he knows what it takes now, especially after going through last year. Man, that was tough. But now he seems very confident in himself and he’s able to go out there and do him.”
That confidence has leaked onto the wide-outs.
“Our receivers have a ton of confidence,” Scott said. “Me and Dres [Anderson] give each other that look all the time, and it’s like, ‘Alright, let’s go.’ That’s just how we always been, and it helps everybody rally around too.”
Anderson and Scott are expected to lead a group of receivers who are bigger and faster than any group the Utes have had. Utah head coach Kyle Whittingham made it clear that upwards of seven receivers could be used in any given game. Make no mistake, however, that Scott will be expected to play a major role in the passing game.
On Thursday night, Scott will complete his comeback when he lines up in a game for the first time since injuring his ankle last August. He isn’t scared.
“No, I would never have any nerves,” Scott said. “This is just an ankle injury, it’s not like me dying or anything, I can come back from anything like this.”
After missing out on last season, Scott is ready to show he can be an elite pass catcher in one of the top conferences in the nation. He already feels he is, but now he wants to prove it to everyone else.
“I know what I can do,” Scott said. “I just got to show everybody else.”
When asked what exactly it was that he could do, Scott answered, “Everything.”
Sounds like the start of a much happier memory.
@millerjryan