Isiah Scott staying home at YSU

January 31, 2015 at 12:08a.m.

With the clock ticking toward National Signing Day, Hubbard senior Isiah Scott felt the time was right to decide who he’ll sign with on Wednesday.

“COMMITTED to Youngstown State #ThankingTheLord,” Scott tweeted Friday afternoon.

The timing of his announcement came as a surprise to some, since the three-star athlete was scheduled to make a final recruiting visit to the University of Kentucky over the weekend. Scott confirmed that his announcement means he will no longer be making the trip to Lexington.

“I’m very close with my family and the majority of them are in Youngs-town,” Scott said. “The coaching staff have been showing a lot of love and they treat me like family down there, so I feel like that’s where I’ll be comfortable.”

Scott (6-foot-3, 200 pounds) is the brother of highly touted running back L.J. Scott, who is committed to Michigan State University. The two had talked in the past about wanting to play together at the next level, but they agreed that they needed to do what was best for each other.

“He understands,” Isiah said about his brother’s reaction. “We were talking about sticking together, but we’ll follow each other around and everything.

“We don’t want to hurt one of our futures for the other.”

Scott played wide receiver on offense, as well as defensive back and linebacker for the Eagles on defense. As a senior, he caught 27 pass for 470 yards and eight touchdowns in the regular season. He also returned an interception for a touchdown in the fourth quarter of Hubbard’s dramatic regional final loss to Akron St. Vincent-St. Mary this past season.

The playmaker said he has big plans for how his skills will be used at YSU.

“I’ll be a wide receiver at Youngstown State,” Scott said. “But [the coaching staff] asked me if I could play some defense, too.

“I told them I’d be ready.”

Scott is the first local commit for new Penguins head coach Bo Pelini. Cardinal Mooney kicker Zak Kennedy and West Branch lineman Jacob Zinni were already committed to YSU when Pelini was hired in December.

Pelini’s newest pledge had high praise for the former Nebraska coach.

“From what I know and my experiences, he’s a great guy,” Scott said. “I mean, he tells me all the right things and I definitely will be excited to play for him.

“I’m excited to be repping my city and playing for one of the greatest coaches of all time.”

Scott also had offers from Kentucky and Cincinnati.