Portal:College football/Selected article/20
Da'Rel Scott (born May 26, 1988) is an American college football player. He is currently the starting running back for the Maryland Terrapins at the University of Maryland. During the 2008 season, he was the second-leading rusher in the Atlantic Coast Conference, behind Jonathan Dwyer of Georgia Tech.
Scott played interscholastic football as a running back and free safety at Plymouth-Whitemarsh High School. He was moderately recruited, but Scout.com thought he was more suited to the position of wide receiver or cornerback at the intercollegiate level. In 2006, he enrolled at the University of Maryland, where he was moved to wide receiver, but he spent the entire season on redshirt status. The following season, he saw limited action as a reserve running back behind starters Lance Ball and Keon Lattimore. He also played on special teams as a kickoff returner, which was the coaching staff's attempt to get him on the field in some capacity because of his speed.
In 2008, Scott took over as Maryland's starting running back and spent much of the season as the leading rusher in the Atlantic Coast Conference (ACC). He was eventually surpassed by Dwyer, although both players were named to the All-ACC first team at the season's end. Scott also became the 2008 Humanitarian Bowl most valuable player when he broke the University of Maryland bowl game rushing record, and he finished the season with 1,133 rushing yards, the seventh Terrapin player to surpass a thousand yards in a single season.