Da'Rel Scott

Rivals.com rated him a four-star prospect and assessed him as the 21st-ranked "athlete" recruit in the nation.

Da'Rel Scott (born May 26, 1988) is a former American football running back.

Scott was born on May 26, 1988, in Conshohocken, Pennsylvania, to Gloria and Lee Scott Sr. He has two older brothers, Lee Scott Jr., who played football as a defensive back at La Salle, and James, who ran track at Saint Joseph's.

When Da'Rel Scott was eight years old, his parents had a falling out, which prompted his father to leave the family.

Thereafter, Lee Scott Sr. was no longer involved in raising his sons and would often miss scheduled visits.

Da'Rel Scott said, "He just kept letting me down. Just day by day, I was thinking, 'I need a father figure in my life.'" In high school, his attitude changed, and he said, "I don't need him."

Despite the absence of his biological father, Scott grew up with the support of his mother, two brothers Lee and James, cousin Leroy, family friend and youth football coach Mike Shaw, and high school athletic director Charlie Forster.

He attended Plymouth Whitemarsh High School in Plymouth Meeting, Pennsylvania, where he was a four-year letterwinner in football, track, and basketball.

In football, Scott was a three-year starter and played as both a tailback and free safety.

During his senior year, he rushed for 2,523 yards and 38 touchdowns on 232 attempts.

As both a junior and senior, he received the Maxwell Award for the conference player of the year.

As a senior, The Times Herald named him the area player of the year, the Associated Press named him an all-state player, and he was invited to the Big 33 Football Classic all-star game.

SuperPrep named him an all-region player.

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 (4.31 seconds in the 40-yard dash and sub 10.5 seconds in the 100 meters)

In 2006, he enrolled at the University of Maryland, where he studied kinesiology.

Scott was also a standout track athlete.

During his junior year, he won the state championship in the 100 meters, with a time of 10.56 seconds.

He lettered four years in track and field.

Scott sat out the 2006 season as a redshirt.

After summer training camp, the coaching staff moved Scott to wide receiver, a position that lacked depth, but head coach Ralph Friedgen said that Scott had some difficulty making the adjustment.

He was, however, named the offensive scout team player of the week for his performance in the practices before the Florida State game.

During 2007 spring practice, Scott was third on the depth chart, but suffered a left knee injury, which forced him to miss most of camp.

During the 2007 season, he played in nine games as a reserve tailback behind Lance Ball and Keon Lattimore and as a kickoff returner.

Despite the team's abundance of running backs, Friedgen wanted to utilize Scott in some capacity because of his speed, which had been recorded at 4.25 seconds in the 40-yard dash.

Maryland wide receiver Darrius Heyward-Bey said, "On paper it says I'm faster, but Da'Rel, he's just a different type of animal."

Against Wake Forest, he saw his first action when he returned four kickoffs for 101 yards.

Scott's special teams performance in that game sufficiently impressed head coach Friedgen that he said, "I think I've got to try to get him involved within the offense. I think he's a guy that can make some plays for us."

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 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.

Scout.com assessed him as a three-star prospect, and wrote of him, "This kid can flat out fly. He runs a sub 10.5 100 meters, and a sub 21.0 200 meters. Scott needs to get physically bigger to be a college running back; he may project better as a wide receiver or cornerback."

Scott received scholarship offers from Georgia Tech, Penn State, Virginia, and his ultimate choice, Maryland.

As a senior in 2010, he competed in the 60 meters, posting a personal best of 6.87 seconds.

He was selected in the seventh round of the 2011 NFL Draft by the New York Giants.

He played college football for the University of Maryland, where he was a starting running back.