Seventh-Round Safety Scott Signs

A late-season position change at TCU helped Vernon Scott get drafted.

GREEN BAY, Wis. – Seventh-round pick Vernon Scott, a safety from TCU, has signed with the Green Bay Packers. Scott announced the signing on Twitter.

Officially a Packer! It’s a blessing to be here..Ever since i started my journey 6 years ago, I always visioned this but i knew it would take a tremendous amount of hard work, dedication, and sacrifice! This is just the beginning, can’t wait to get to work in Green Bay!#gopackgo pic.twitter.com/FJtD9PfXtx

— Vernon Scott II (@OfficialVern_) May 30, 2020

Scott was a full-time starter only as a senior, when he recorded 44 tackles and was third on the team with seven pass breakups. He produced four turnovers in a span of the final three games. Against Texas Tech, he forced a fumble to preserve the victory. Against Oklahoma, he had a season-high seven tackles and a 98-yard pick-six. In the finale against West Virginia, he had one sack and one forced fumble.

In those final three games, Scott moved to a safety/slot hybrid position and flourished. It was those games that got him on NFL radars.

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“That other spot is like a nickel corner at the NFL level,” Horned Frogs safeties coach Paul Gonzales said. “We moved him there and got him ready in the span of a week to play against Texas Tech. He had never taken any reps there before that week and he really thrived. When you look at his body of work as far as the season goes, most of his production and big plays came in the tail-end of the year when he made that move. That was a big deal for him to, ‘Hey, we’ve got to plug you in at a spot’ and he did it and he played at a high level. That was a pretty good culmination for him to the four years of work that he put in. I think that’s what a lot of people saw as they went through the tape of him. Early on, he was solid. As he moved to that spot the last three games, all of a sudden it was like, ‘Whoa, who’s this guy making all these plays?’”

At 6-foot-2 and 202 pounds, the Packers timed Scott with a 40 time in the 4.4s.

“I’m a very rangy guy. I’m a very versatile guy,” he said after being drafted. “I think being able to show my athleticism on the defense in many ways throughout the Packers defense. I’m a versatile guy. I can play deep, I can come down and guard tight ends, running backs, come off the edge. I did all of that at TCU, so I feel like I’m a very versatile player. I can be used many ways in the Packers defense.”

Scott is the second of the Packers’ nine draft picks to sign. Outside linebacker Jonathan Garvin signed earlier in the week.

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