Powerful Spartan

December 25, 2015 at 12:00a.m.

Michigan State football team has faith that Hubbard’s L.J. Scott deserves big carries

It’s the first play of the Big Ten championship’s decisive drive.

L.J. Scott takes a handoff from Connor Cook at his own 18-yard line, runs right, jukes an Iowa defender at the line of scrimmage, hits a hole and slams into a safety before a gang of Hawkeyes finally bring Michigan State’s No. 3 to the turf after six yards. Nine minutes and 20 seconds remain in the fourth quarter.

Pause for a second.

Funny to think — just about one year ago from that all-important Dec. 5 contest — Scott was playing his last game for Hubbard High: a devastating 26-23 playoff loss to Akron St. Vincent-St. Mary on Nov. 21, 2014.

But there was Scott a few weeks ago, dressed in his Michigan State home whites and lined up at tailback for the No. 5 Spartans as they took on No. 4 Iowa in the Big Ten title game at Lucas Oil Stadium in Indianapolis to a crowd of 66,985 fans.

And he wasn’t just in uniform. No, the 6-foot, 233-pound Hubbard graduate found himself as the focal point of the game’s biggest moment.

With the Spartans trailing 13-9 and receiving the ball with 9:31 left in the fourth quarter, it was now or never for the squad coached by Mark Dantonio (a former Youngstown State assistant under Jim Tressel). As it turned out, Dantonio and MSU would turn to their true freshman running back.

“Everybody was counting on me,” Scott said in a phone interview. “All my coaches and teammates were counting on me. I just tried to come through for the team and come through for my brothers.”

Did he ever.

In the Spartans’ epic 22-play, 82-yard drive that lasted just more than nine minutes and clinched their berth to the College Football Playoff, Scott received 14 carries. He gained 37 yards, three first downs and — most importantly — scored the game-winning touchdown on a mean, pure-determination 1-yard run with 27 seconds remaining to propel MSU to a 16-13 win.

“I just knew I needed to be a big part of the whole entire drive,” said Scott, who finished the game with 73 yards on 22 carries.

As the 2015 Hubbard grad and Michigan State (12-1) prepare to play Alabama (12-1) on Thursday in a CFP semifinal (8 p.m., AT&T Stadium in Arlington, Tex.), here’s a look at Scott’s journey in relation to his big-time performance on that final drive:

Seventh play of the drive, Scott’s third carry: 4-yard run on third-and-3 from MSU’s 44-yard line (6:44).

His first crucial carry of the drive, Scott is met at the line of scrimmage, but spins off an Iowa defensive back and uses that momentum to dive forward for four yards and a pivotal first down.

No doubt, it showed the Spartans’ comfort-level of handing Scott the ball in big moments. It’s a high comfort-level that goes both ways.

Coming out of Hubbard as the seventh-ranked running back in the country by ESPN.com, Scott, who amassed an Eagles school-record 7,476 career-rushing yards, was heavily recruited by the country’s top schools.

He surely visited defending national champion Ohio State. He got familiar with Alabama, too (more on both later). But when he visited East Lansing, Mich., it all clicked.

“When I was in high school, I finally took my visit here and this is where I felt at home,” said Scott, who verbally committed to MSU in July 2014 and signed in February. “[Getting comfortable] is just something that I worked toward every day.”

Throughout his debut season with the Spartans, Scott battled nagging injuries while sharing the load with fellow running backs Madre London and Gerald Homes. Still, he leads the team with 708 rushing yards and 11 rushing touchdowns. And when the moment grew monumentally large against Iowa, Scott was the MSU halfback called on time and again ... and again ... and again.

“It’s been a fantastic season so far,” he said. “We’re working as a team every day just trying to get better. Each game, you always run into tough situations. But it’s just about how you bounce back from it and move forward from there.”

Fourteenth play of the drive, Scott’s seventh carry: 6-yard run on second-and-7 from Iowa’s 21-yard line (3:25).

The TV broadcast on FOX showed the replay. Then it showed it again — in slow motion this time — the announcers raving at how Scott made six yards out of nothing by planting his left foot at the line of scrimmage and juking Miles Taylor so much that it sent the Iowa safety flailing to the ground.

It was a nasty move. But Scott also performed an important juke off the field when he made Ohio State whiff and, instead, chose Michigan State.

“Nothing against Ohio State,” said Scott, who received royal recruiting treatment from the Buckeyes as they remained persistent even after his verbal commit. “You know, Ohio State is a good school, as well, with some good coaches and players.

“But it’s just about where I felt I had a chance to play and where I felt more comfortable — where I felt like a family-type and where I felt at home.”

So, on Nov. 21 (exactly one year from his final high school game), Scott returned to his home state with his Spartans family and dissed OSU once again. He rushed for 58 yards on 13 carries to help MSU upset the top-ranked, previously undefeated Buckeyes, 17-14, in Columbus for the Spartans’ signature win of the regular season.

“It was huge,” Scott said. “It’s always nice to win big in your hometown — especially when they recruited you. I mean, it wasn’t even about them recruiting me, but, you know.”

Seventeenth play of the drive, Scott’s 10th carry: 5-yard run on second-and-7 from Iowa’s 10 yard-line (2:04).

By now, Scott — as well as the Spartans’ offensive line — is wearing out the Iowa defense. He shoots through a hole off the left side before being brought down with an ankle-tackle as he falls forward to the 5-yard line.

He almost made it all the way through. He almost finished off the drive right there.

And speaking of almost, Scott was almost a Crimson Tide running back?

“One day when I was in the high school, I talked to [Alabama head coach] Nick Saban over the phone,” Scott said. “He told me they were offering me [a scholarship], and if I was interested, let them know.”

Then, Alabama special teams coordinator Bobby Williams (who, coincidentally, served as Michigan State’s head coach from 2000-02) visited northeastern Ohio, meeting with Scott to try to woo him to Tuscaloosa.

“But same thing for Alabama as Ohio State,” Scott said. “They’re a good team, good facilities, nice coaches and everything — but it’s just about where I feel more comfortable. Plus, Alabama was too far for me.”

So, Scott obviously spurned the Southern school to stay in the Midwest, where he’s averaging 4.9 yards per carry. He has rushed for 70-plus yards four times this season — his best statistical performance a 146-yard, two-TD outburst against Purdue on Oct. 3.

Come New Year’s Eve, maybe Scott will see Williams again. Maybe he’ll talk to Saban face-to-face this time. We’ll see. However, one thing is for certain.

“It’s very exciting,” he said about facing Alabama.

Twenty-second play of the drive, Scott’s 14th carry: 1-yard TD run on third-and-goal from Iowa’s 1-yard line (0:27).

Scott should have went down when he was met by two Iowa linebackers at the 3-yard line, right? He definitely shouldn’t have been able to spin out of two more tackles at the 2, before stretching the ball across the goal line while being wrapped up and pulled back by a gang of Hawkeyes, right?

Wrong.

In dramatic fashion, that’s how the game-winning, playoff-clinching touchdown transpired. It left FOX TV announcer Gus Johnson yelling, “What strength by the true freshman!” as Scott was swarmed by his quarterback Cook — and then his blockers — in celebration.

Is that the best run of your career so far?

“Oh yeah. For sure, man,” Scott said.

Talk about good timing.

—

Just about a year after he last wore the Hubbard blue and white, Scott burst onto the national scene in grand fashion. Now, he simply wants to do what he did over and over again on that final drive against Iowa: keep moving forward.

“I’ve heard a lot of support [from home] and I’m very thankful for that,” Scott said. “But I don’t let stuff like that get to my head.

“I never thought I’d even have this chance to play D-I and to play against Alabama and Ohio State. It’s a blessing. I just wanna remain humble — and I will remain humble — and keep pushing forward.”