Kansas Wesleyan's Chris Scott isn't afraid of much and certainly isn't hesitant to stand his ground – beneficial traits for someone who plays in the defensive line on a college football team.
Just how courageous is Scott?
For starters he hails from Chicago where he played football at Urban Prep Academy before coming to Salina to play for the Coyotes. Growing up in the Windy City you would expect him to be a die-hard Chicago Bears fan as most youngsters are.
Scott, though, is an exception. Fact is his favorite NFL team is the Green Bay Packers, the Bears' oldest and fiercest NFC Central rival located just 206 to the north.
"I went to a Bears game in 2017 and wore my Packers' jersey, and man …," Scott said, shaking his head.
Bold and brave, for sure.
"Coming up I took a lot of criticism; I heard the worst of the worst but I feel like it made me really like them more," he said. "And then they beat the Bears like all the time so it makes it just that much better."
Scott has a practical reason for liking Green Bay as well.
"I've been a fan of (quarterback) Aaron Rodgers and I like his approach to the game," he said. "Even when things are getting rough, he's able to keep a level head and honestly guys follow that. I've always liked that."
Scott has tried to do the same when plays for the No. 7-ranked and unbeaten Coyotes. Now in his third season at KWU, Scott is one of the veterans on a deep and talented defensive line.
He plays rush linebacker and done so quite well of late. All 3.5 of his sacks have come in the last four games and he has 16 tackles (nine solo) and a fumble recovery on the season.
Scott is a key figure but one of many contributors on a unit that has two shutouts to its credit and is allowing just 11.6 points and 246 total yards per game.
"I feel like this is the most unselfish defense I've been a part of," he said. "Everybody loves everybody, we motivate each other and we're deep. We know that the guy behind us may very well play and have the same impact on the game as the person in front of him. That's a blessing to be a part of."
KWU ranks fourth in the NAIA with 26 sacks – Cole Parker leads the way with 7.5 and then Scott, who credits a team-first attitude and the depth for the Coyotes' success pressuring quarterbacks.
"We're not selfish at all even if we have to set up other guys to play," he said. "We celebrate together, we look at it as a one-unit thing. It doesn't matter who makes the sack as long as the play is made.
"(Depth) makes it so much easier. You don't have to focus on being tired, just come out and do our job. That's all we have to do. We can play up to 30 guys on defense at all positions so that is something we definitely have going for us that I don't think other teams do."
Scott came to Wesleyan as a middle linebacker but defensive coordinator Matt Myers opted to move him to the line. At 6-foot-1, 220 pounds has the size and quickness to play both.
"If we don't have the depth on the D-line that we have we don't have the results that we have and Chris has been a huge piece of that," KWU coach Myers Hendrickson said. "He gets to the quarterback really well, he's a very quick, athletic defensive lineman. I love the way he plays the game and he's an even better person."
Scott's first season at KWU was 2019 and he watched and learned from one of the best defenses in university history, led by two-time NAIA sack leader Shaq Bradford.
"I liked their attitude and mentality on how you approach the game and just how they played the game," he said. "Even the work ethic they put in outside of football, outside of team activities.
"I learned the work doesn't go unnoticed. I feel like the work that you put in in the dark is going to show up at some point. You just have to be ready whenever your number's called."