It seemed like a sign of positive things to come in Boulder, Colo., when Parade All-American running back Darrell Scott chose Colorado over Texas and Southern California two years ago.But it was the fairy tale that was never realized as injuries and questions about his physical conditioning clouded a two-year career. Scott, easily the biggest and most high-profile recruit of Dan Hawkins' Colorado tenure, informed the coaching staff Tuesday that he is leaving the program.
Hawkins said in a released statement the sophomore "is leaving for assorted personal reasons." He assumed Scott would be transferring to school closer to his Ventura, Calif., home.
Scott told the Denver Post he hopes to get a release to UCLA, where he can join his uncle Josh Smith, a former Buffs wide receiver who transferred to UCLA last year and is sitting out this season per NCAA guidelines.
"I'd been thinking about it for a couple of months," Scott told the newspaper on Tuesday.
Scott seemed to turn a major corner in the Buffaloes' second game of the year with a career-best 12 carries for 85 yards in a loss to Toledo.
That couldn't have been the type of production Scott or the Buffaloes anticipated when he picked them as the country's top running back and the No. 2 overall prospect of the 2008 recruiting class. Scott earned top All-American honors from Parade, USA Today, Prep Star and SuperPrep coming out of St. Bonaventure High School.
As a freshman last season, he played in 11 games, but missed a game and parts of others due to groin and ankle injuries. Injuries continued to be a major theme this season.
He injured his knee in the Toledo game and had arthroscopic surgery on Oct. 22, according to The Post. It probably hasn't helped that Colorado is still struggling and pressure is mounting on Hawkins, who could lose his job after the season.
Colorado is at the bottom of the Big 12 North standings with a 2-6, 1-3 conference record.
"There's really nothing to say, other than 'Sorry to Buff nation,' " Scott said.
Reader Comments (Page 1 of 1)
11-04-2009 @ 12:53AM
bluerange308 said...
That's Karma for you. That crap that he pulled on Texas and Mack Brown was wrong. Looks like the punk is gonna get what he deserves in the end. Glad he chose them over Texas though, what a waste of time.
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11-04-2009 @ 5:53PM
Dan the Man said...
Nobody should be surprised about this. The kid pulled the same move on Moorpark High when he transfered to St. Bonaventure for his senior year of H.S. ball.
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11-15-2009 @ 1:55AM
wtd15 said...
Now if we can just get Hawkins to leave, everyone can stop drinking the juice and realize CU hasn't had a winning season in the Hawkins era. Thanks for trying Dan, but you've singlehandedly made CU the doormat of the conference. Stop pulling these overhyped kids out of California, and focus more on the Southeast. Look at the hometowns of CU's roster circa 1990.
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