When your wide receivers coach is one of the greats to ever suit up for the Pittsburgh Steelers, it was probably just a matter of time until the Sun Devils would land a wideout from the state of Pennsylvania. Sure enough, just two months after The Hines Ward hire in Tempe, Dallastown High School standout Michael (Mikey) Scott publicly committed to Arizona State following his official visit to the school last weekend.
“I loved the family atmosphere,” Scott said. “They have a great coaching staff, and who wouldn’t want to live in Scottsdale or Phoenix or Tempe? I loved the comfortability, hospitality, and love that they showed.”
And make no mistake about it; the Hines Ward Steeler angle resonated tenfold with a Pennsylvania player such as Scott. The wide receiver admitted that while he definitely recognized his college position coach’s name, he wasn’t fully aware of his illustrious NFL career. But once he learned and more and more about Ward, even ASU’s relatively late arrival in pursuing him created a sharp turn in his recruiting process.
“I was about to do my top seven,” Scott recalled, “And Hines ward called me out of nowhere. He told me, “I love your game. I just got hired by ASU, and I’m trying to find a PA kid.’ And then, he offered me a full scholarship. My school in PA is very Steeler-oriented. My teacher was like, ‘Are you on the phone with Hines Ward?’ He (Ward) also came into my school, and that showed his dedication and that love, and that was really big. I wanted to go somewhere where I didn’t feel just wanted but also needed. I’m going somewhere where I feel like we’re building something.
“Hines Ward is a great guy. When he was talking to me during this official visit, you could tell he’s a great coach. He told me how he would be using me in their system and the vision for the program that he and the whole coaching staff has. You can tell he’s very football-smart, and obviously, he would be if he’s a Super Bowl MVP. He kept a good relationship with me even though it was 2000 miles away, and he came all that way to see me because I’m a PA kid this is very big.”
As a junior playing in ten games for the 5-5 Wildcats, he registered 493 receiving yards on 33 catches (14.9-yard average), scoring five touchdowns and rushing for 307 yards and four touchdowns. On defense, he posted four interceptions and 15 total tackles as a defensive back.
Scott said that Ward told him that his skill set reminded him of All-Pro and Super Bowl champion Tyreek Hill, as the archetypal quick-twitch receiver, as he and the Sun Devil staff demonstrated how he could flourish in ASU’s scheme.
“He’s said that I can fit a system by getting the ball early and taking the top off of defenses,” Scott described. “He said that I could really make a difference in that case. What’s crazy is when they sat me and my family down, and they put clips of my high school highlights and then show what they already run, I knew the stuff that they’re doing. They said that the transition for me will be more mentally; how much can you intake and learn the playbook? I feel that I’m very football IQ smart because I love being a student of the game. I love watching film of NFL receivers like Tyreek Hill. I love how the coaches broke down their offense into an art. I know this year, their offense is gonna be crazy.
“I loved how (offensive coordinator) Coach Marcus Arroyo sat all the receivers down who were on the visit, and talked to us about where he’s been in his career, and how they want to play a pro style, quick tempo offense. Just getting the ball in the hands of your playmakers. (Head) Coach Dillingham is my Dawg. He talked to me about how the receiver he coached at Oregon, Tez Johnson, had a lot of similar abilities to me. He said that they can’t wait to see me play for them.”
Scott’s visit to ASU was his first official visit to any program, but he had unofficially visited Penn State and Pitt multiple times and had offers from Maryland, Kentucky, Pitt, West Virginia, Cincinnati, and Boston College, among others. As it turned out, Tempe was a tough act to follow.
“Having such a great visit just makes me feel comfortable that I’m going that far away,” Scott remarked. “I know that being away from my family they would be able to still feel comfortable because of the hospitality and love that they showed us the whole visit. Before the visit, I saw the campus from the pictures, and they don’t do it justice seeing it in person. It was hot there and I love the heat. The food on the visit was amazing, and I liked how everything was so close to each other and nothing far away. Seeing so many recruits commit to the visit really helped the vibe. They told me on the visit ‘you might as well just slide over.’
My host was (wide receiver) Kaleb Black, and he’s just a great human. You can tell all the love that’s there in the receiver room. They are all like brothers to each other. It’s almost like they are with each other 24/7, doing everything together and making sure they stay out of trouble.
“I love the academics, and there are a lot of majors you can choose from. I’m interested in Kinesiology and working in sports medicine and exercise science. It’s not a four-year plan, but a 40-year plan when you go to college. When you’re done playing football, even if you’re able to go to the NFL, it stands for Not For Long. So, I want to make sure that I have different other streams of income.
“I’m a very social person, and I love talking to new people. Being able to meet all the coaches, and going out with the recruits and players, just walking around the city and doing different stuff like go-kart racing and stuff…you never know if the person you meet might be a CEO of a company that you might have applied to. So it’s important building those relationships and getting to meet new people, and it’s so easy to meet new people there.”
Scott is the third wide receiver to pledge to the Sun Devils in this class, joining four-star prospect Adrian Wilson and Centennial High School's Cory Butler.
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