Conway 2020 OL Robert Scott Staying Humble Despite Erupting Recruitment

Of all of Arkansas's in-state 2020 offers, perhaps none has a higher ceiling than Conway High School offensive tackle Robert Scott. Arkansas was the fifth program to offer Scott and his stock has been high since the end of his junior season. Teams are coming in from all over to Conway, so many even Wampus Cats Head Coach Keith Fimple couldn't name them all.

Scott now has 13 offers, most recent coming from Nebraska, Tennessee and Ole Miss, and he's been to visit Arkansas, Louisiana Tech, Missouri and Mississippi State.

"His recruitment is going really well," Coach Fimple said. "It's a great thing for him, he deserves everything he gets, he works extremely hard. He's just a good player and people recognize that."

While his recruitment is going especially well for a player in Arkansas, Scott stays incredibly humble about his situation. He wants his opportunities to help his teammates gain exposure.

"In my household, we work hard and we stay humble," Scott said. "When I get new offers I don't go around talking about it."

"A lot of schools are coming down and, what I'm doing is, even though I've already got my offers, and I appreciate coaches coming down, at least my teammates can get seen. Even if they don't get an offer, you can't say Big Rob didn't help."

Listed at 6-foot-6 and 295 pounds, Scott is already well on his way physically to being a competent SEC-caliber lineman and his frame can allow him to carry quite a bit more weight. Scott is learning to love the weight room and since beginning to lift he's improved his bench from just 95 pounds to 395.

"He's growing, he's 6-foot-7 now, he's gained a lot of weight and strength since I got here two years ago," Coach Fimple said. "He's very agile on his feet, so the sky's the limit and we'll just keep him going that way."

Physical capability is one factor that goes into deciding who to recruit and who not to recruit, another is football IQ. Scott's mother doesn't allow him to bring home any Cs, all As and Bs, and his performance in the classroom translates well on the football field. He's a clear leader on the team and he says it's natural for his peers to look up to "Big Rob."

You can tell from watching Scott at practice that he's very coachable and always looking to improve his technique.

"He'll go into a film room and you can ask him questions, he'll answer and sound like a coach," Fimple said. "He's very intelligent, he understands his position and he can respond and react to situations quickly."

The recruiting process can be overwhelming but Scott's mother plays a very big role in the process, helping him set up visits, talking to coaches and helping him narrow things down.

"Recruitment is a blessing, but it's hard too," Scott said. "Every day you're on the phone with another coach, but I don't complain. I keep putting in the work because there are a lot of kids that wish they had what I have."

Scott and his mother have a system by which they eliminate a program when a new school of interest offers, so they're never talking to too many coaches at once or wasting anybody's time.

"I really didn't expect I would get recruited to this degree. My mom used to talk to me after games and be like, "That was trash," Scott said jokingly. "She just didn't want me to get big headed. But then my coach told her I could play in college, and it's been crazy. You don't think you'll get there from here. I guess I'm the next Colton Jackson, you could say."

The Razorbacks do their upmost to take all the top in-state talent that they can and they want to get the Conway giant back on campus soon. The Hogs have just one offensive line commit so far, Carthage High School 3-star tackle Ty'Kieast Crawford.

"I'm getting ready to start doing my official visits, I plan to get back to Arkansas soon. As far as planning all that stuff out, it's up to my mom. And she doesn't care where I go, she says she'll make it to any school I want to go to. A big factor is academics and she wants to make sure I can get the tutoring and any help I might need."

Before college comes up, Scott still has a semester to finish and a whole senior year to complete. The Wampus Cats will try to get a ring in 2019 for the first time since 1964, and Scott will be a major player at left tackle.

Scott is currently unrated by Rivals but is due for his evaluation to go through this month.

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