Great Scott! Ole Miss has Lawon

One debate in sports talk every fall is what the most powerful NCAA football conference is. Of course it always comes down to the usual suspects, the BIG 10, BIG 12, PAC 10 and SEC.  Depending on what part of the country you dwell the answer is obvious.  So for this conversation, being native to Tampa Bay, I will say the SEC is the most powerful football conference.

Did you ever wonder what it would be like to play football in the SEC?  I have… nationally televised games (and they are all not pay-per-view), huge stadiums, crazy college atmospheres, some of the best college football players in the country…WOW!  I needed to learn more about this!

I was fortunate enough to meet one of the SEC’s elite defensive tackles.  His name is Lawon Scott, write that down, Lawon Scott, there will be a quiz on the radio show plus this guy’s good.  #96 of the Ole Miss Rebels stands 6’1” 310 lbs. and this interior lineman is a special talent, hailing from right here in our beautiful bay area.  I chose Lawon to be a Rocket Sports & Entertainment (EBAA) EXCEPTIONAL BAY AREA ATHLETE.  Ask me why…. You know me, ask me…doesn’t matter I’m telling you anyway.  This guy is as sharp as they come. His proudest dynamic he shared with me, and it’s not that he is a starting DT on a SEC football team.  No not Lawon, instead he was beaming ear to ear when he told me he’s graduating with his Bachelor’s Degree a semester early!

Lawon was home here in the bay area so I was able to sit down and have lunch with him in downtown St. Petersburg on a hot August afternoon.

RS:  “How will staying four years at Ole Miss better prepare you for the NFL?”

Lawon: “I think staying the full four years, seeing players go to the NFL and come back (to school) and let you know how is it, shows its better just to stay and get your degree.”

RS:  “Good deal!   Were you recruited by Florida?”

Lawon: “No.  I was recruited by Ole Miss, Wake Forest, USF, FIU, and FAU.  A lot of schools passed on me, I don’t know why, maybe my size (referring to his height); but we beat Florida my sophomore year.”

RS:  “Why did you choose Ole Miss?”

Lawon: “It just felt like home, I felt it was the best place for me to be, the head coach knew all about D-Line, so I figured it would be a good place to go.”

RS: “Do you think about playing in the NFL?” “Do you know what you need to do to prepare for the NFL?”

Lawon:  “Yes, playing in the NFL has always been a life dream of mine, as everyone that plays college football.  To prepare you have to work hard.”

RS: “Jim Levitt recruited you …”

Lawon: “Yes, but actually, Coach Levitt never offered me.”

RS: “If USF did offer you, would you have stayed home?”

Lawon:  pause… “No, too close to home.”

RS: “It seems like you adjusted real well being away from home, you were what 18 at the time you went to Ole Miss?”

Lawon: “Yes”

RS: “Do you stay in touch with friends here in the bay area?”

Lawon:  “Yea all the time, as a matter of fact one of my best friends is at school by me, Southern  Illinois.”

RS: “If you had a choice, who would you want to play for in the NFL?”

Lawon:  (huge smile…) “Come back home, Tampa Bay.”

RS: “Biggest rival, Miss St?”

Lawon: “Yes”

RS: “The Florida Gators, you do not play them this year…”

Lawon:  “We did not play them last year either. We were the only team to beat them the year they won the National Championship.” (Lawon’s sophomore year, 2008)

RS:  “What was it like playing against Tim Tebow?”

Lawon: “He’s a real solid dude.  Tackling him is not like a tackling a quarterback; more like tackling something like a linebacker.”

RS: “I saw a photo of you wrapping him up, so I know you hit him a few times…”

Lawon:  “He was solid!”

RS: “How do you think Tebow is going to do in the NFL?”

Lawon:  “I actually think he has a lot of critics for no reason, I think he is going to something well there.”

RS: “You’re excited this year, the new guy… Masoli…”

Lawon:  “Yes, Jeremiah Masoli, he is going to be a good addition to our team this year.”

RS: “I have read some good things about the defensive unit, who are some of the other guys?”

Lawon: “Two guys are my roommates, Allen Walker and Ted Laurent, we’ve been together the whole time because “Coach O” recruited us, and we are a close unit.”

(This defensive group is good and Lawon refers to “Coach O”.  “Coach O” is the former head coach of Ole Miss Ed Orgeron.  I got the sense that Lawon has a tremendous amount of respect for “Coach O”.  He recruited Lawon and his defensive teammates; this will be their fourth year together.  “Coach O” is now the defensive coordinator at So. Cal.)

RS: “Now you grew up in St. Petersburg your whole life, did you play football as a kid?”

Lawon: “I did not play until a freshman in high school.  I was too heavy as a kid.  I started on varsity when I was a freshman.”

RS: “How much did you weigh then?”

Lawon: “260”

RS: “WOW!”

Lawon:  Laughs…. With a look in his eyes of thoughts back to those high school freshman days at St. Petersburg High…

Lawon and I chatted some more, he grew up a Florida State fan following Darnell Dockett and was a fan of Warren Sapp when he played for the Bucs.   Lawon really wanted to go to Florida State but thinks he ended up right where he should be, an Ole Miss Rebel.

I was very impressed with the maturity level of this young man.  I asked after this season (after the bowl game) if he would be back home so Rocket Sports & Entertainment could treat him to a hockey game or something for his sharing of time with me.  He said, “No, I’m going away, away to train!”

That sums up Lawon Scott.

Keep your eyes on #96 of the Ole Miss Rebels this year, Lawon Scott!