The Pittsburgh Steelers have continued to do their due diligence on potential late-round quarterback prospects, as in addition to meeting with Holton Ahlers and Dorian-Thompson Robinson, the team also met with former Incarnate Word quarterback Lindsey Scott Jr. at the NFLPA Bowl, according to Ethan Hurwitz of The Quinnipiac Chronicle.
Scott Jr. won the Walter Payton Award as the best player in FCS football this past season as he led the Cardinals to a 12-2 record and an appearance in the FCS Playoff Semi-Finals. Scott Jr. threw for 4,657 yards and a whopping 60 touchdowns in 2022, which was an FCS record. He also added 712 yards on the ground and 11 additional rushing touchdowns. The transfer from Nicholls has always been able to get it done with his legs, as he had 1,547 rushing yards during his first two seasons along with 14 touchdowns.
He began his career at LSU in 2016, before transferring to East Mississippi Community College, the school made famous by the Netflix series Last Chance U. From EMCC, he transferred to Missouri, where he didn’t play but did make the All-SEC Honor Roll and served on scout team. From there he went to Nicholls where he sat out a year due to transfer rules before throwing for 1,684 yards and 18 touchdowns during his first season at Nichols. He added another 2,073 yards and 16 touchdowns with 11 interceptions in his second year in 2021 before transferring to Incarnate Word.
Despite starting his college career in 2016, Scott will only be 24 during the NFL Draft and 25 when the 2023 season begins. The Steelers have been looking at potential late-round dual-threat quarterbacks, with Thompson-Robinson, Ahlers and now Scott Jr. all having similar skillsets. The Steelers always bring four quarterbacks into training camp, and even if they retain Mitch Trubisky, they’ll only have him and Kenny Pickett under contract heading into the draft if they don’t sign another backup. That makes it likely that the Steelers either spend a late-round pick (likely a seventh) on a quarterback or add one as an undrafted free agent.
With the direction of the NFL shifting to more mobile quarterbacks, having a guy on the practice squad who can at least mimic what guys like Lamar Jackson can do is important for the Steelers. They’ll see Jackson twice a year if he stays healthy and stays in Baltimore, but if not Tyler Huntley is a similar quarterback for the Ravens. With the Browns adding Deshaun Watson, that’s two quarterbacks in the division who rely on their legs in addition to their arm to make plays, which could be a reason why the Steelers seem to have a focus on adding a dual-threat quarterback to the room.
While Scott Jr. is still a little bit older, having a guy with a little bit more experience as your third or fourth quarterback heading into camp isn’t the worst thing in the world. It’ll be interesting to see how the Steelers approach the draft and undrafted free agency when it comes to the quarterback position, but there’s certainly a clear focus on a certain type of player for the position.
