Mark Gorscak is best known as the man who runs the 40-yard dash. The scout at the starting line, instructing the group, blowing the whistle over any starts, and reminding all the NFL hopefuls to be fast.
Prior to the 40-yard dashing kicking off this evening, Gorscak received Wednesday the C.O. Brocato Memorial Award for his lifetime service as a scout.
Here’s a photo of Gorscak being honored by the award as given out by Neil Stratton and Inside The League.
The award is named after longtime scout C.O. Brocato who passed away in 2015. In an interview with Steelers.com’s Teresa Varley, Gorscak spoke about Brocato’s impact on his scouting journey.
“When I was a young scout, he always wanted to test us and find out if we were good people, if we cared, and if we wanted to learn,” Gorscak told Varley. “He would try you a little bit. Once he accepted you, he turned you on to all of his contacts. He built the relationship but tested you in the relationship as well.”
Gorscak, like many among the Steelers’ scouting staff, has been with the team for quite some time. He is entering his 28th year with the team and his 25th as an area scout, primarily covering the southern U.S. Last year, we spotted him at Tennessee, Louisiana-Lafayette, Tulane, LSU, and Louisiana Tech.
Gorscak is a Pittsburgh native who worked in football for years before joining the Steelers. In fact, he was the GM of the Arena League Pittsburgh Gladiators in 1987. He spoke about what it means to stay in Pittsburgh for decades.
“To be able to be working for the Steelers is a dream come true. It’s a special part of the fabric of the city. Everything runs around the Steelers. It’s a football town. It means a lot. It’s a lot of pride.”
The Steelers.com article shared a great photo of the team’s scouting staff surrounding Gorscak with the award. You can check it out at the bottom of the article. Some of the scouts you’ll see in that photo include: Mark Bruener, Dennis MacInnis, Kelvin Fisher, Dave Petett, Chidi Iwuoma, Bruce McNorton (who I rarely spot so it was good to see him included), Dan Colbert, Cole Marcoux, and Rick Reiprish.
While that’s not every single member of the Steelers’ front office and scouting staff, it’s worth – and I’m getting all Steelers’ nerdy here – that East area scout Mike Butler isn’t included in this photo. Butler is still listed on the team website and was part of the organization’s 2021 media guide but I did not see him anywhere on the scouting trail last year, the 2022 Senior Bowl, or in this photo. Butler, the son of Steelers’ Hall of Famer Jack Butler, has been a scout for 34 years, so perhaps he is in a reduced role or has retired.
