By Daniel Johnson-Kim, Editor in Chief
Two former ACU offensive stars are headed to the National Football League.
Johnny Knox and Bernard Scott, standouts during ACU’s last two record-breaking seasons, each saw their name called by NFL teams during the 2009 NFL Draft.
The Chicago Bears picked Knox with the fourth pick of the fifth round (140th overall) and the Cincinnati Bengals drafted Scott with the last pick of the sixth round (209th overall).
This year marks the first time more than one ACU player was drafted by an NFL team since 1983, when center Grant Feasel went to the Colts in the sixth round and wide receiver Steve Parker went to the Patriots in the 11th round.
Knox is the second former Wildcat drafted by the Bears in recent years. Chicago drafted former ACU All-American Danieal Manning in 2006. Manning went on to start at safety in Super Bowl XXXL and remains a part-time starter.
Knox transferred to ACU after a two-year career at Tyler Junior College and was a two-year starter, earning first team All-LSC honors in 2008, as well as a second-team selection on the D2Football.com All-American team. He also led the team with 56 catches for 1,069 yards and 13 touchdowns his senior season.
Knox caught NFL scouts’ attention when he ran the third-fastest time in the 40-yard dash (4.34).
With one of their final picks, the Bengals chose Scott, ACU’s all-time leading rusher after just two seasons and the 2008 Harlon Hill Trophy winner, the Division II equivalent of the Heisman Trophy.
Scott rushed for 2,156 yards and 28 touchdowns and caught 47 passes for 826 yards and six touchdowns in 2008. Scott also was a first-team D2Football.com All-America selection and earned first team All-LSC honors. Scott, a transfer from Blinn College, turned in the eighth-best 40-yard dash time at the Combine for running backs (4.56) and ranked high in several other categories.
After Scott was drafted, the NFL Network anchor/analyst Rich Eisen and other NFL Network draft-day panel members discussed Scott’s “troubled” past, involving several criminal arrests, and whether the Bengals should have picked another player with a history of trouble with the law. Ten Bengals’ players were arrested over a 14-month span beginning in April 2006, according to the Associated Press.
“He’s extremely talented but how many red flags does that young man have?” Eisen said.
According to the New York Times, Scott has been arrested at least five times, and ACU was the fourth college to play at since 2003. Scott played a red-shirt season at Southeastern Oklahoma State University and transferred to the University of Central Arkansas in 2004. He was named the Gulf Coast Conference Freshman of the Year in 2004 after rushing for 1,026 yards and 11 touchdowns.
Scott was dismissed for striking a Central Arkansas coach who tried to break up an on-field fight, according to the New York Times. Scott denies ever hitting the coach. Scott went on to Blinn Junior College in 2006, where he led his team to a national junior college championship victory. Scott transferred to ACU in 2007 and went on to break several school and conference rushing records.
The only other Lone Star Conference player to be drafted was West Texas A&M quarterback Keith Null, who was selected in the sixth round by the St. Louis Rams.
In addition to Knox and Scott, former quarterback Billy Malone, offensive guard Joseph Thompson, safety Nick Fellows and tight end Kendrick Holloway also received attention from NFL scouts before the draft but were not picked. Those players hope to enter the league as free agents.
Read more on ACU players entering the NFL in Wednesday’s online and print edition of the Optimist.
Read a transcript of a press conference with Bernard Scott after he was drafted here.
Read the Chicago Bears official press release on Johnny Knox here.
