RB SCOTT CHOOSES UCO TO PLAY COLLEGE FOOTBALL

After numerous college visits and a lot of contemplation, Payton Scott has made a decision. The Sand Springs running back committed to play football for the University of Central Oklahoma, announcing his decision on Twitter, Sunday, Jan. 21. “I think there is something special going on there and I want to be a part of it,” Scott told the Leader. As a senior, Scott was named the Dist. 6AII-s player of the year and earned the Gatorade’s top player award for football in Oklahoma. At Sand Springs, he played four years of football and was a wrestler for four years. A hand injury ended his senior season in wrestling but he was able to compete in a few matches. However, he won an individual state championship his junior year and helped the Sandites to a dual state championship and state tournament title that season. In football, Scott became the state’s top rusher for large schools with 2,597 yards. He also shattered all of Sand Springs’ rushing records, breaking the single-game record with 505 yards, the single-game touchdown record with seven, and the single-season record with 2,597 yards. Scott said he will miss the teammates he got close to during his time as a Sandite. “Just getting to play with some great guys and great friends that I’ve known forever. I love those guys that I have made connections with for the last four years,” Scott said. Over the past several years, Sand Springs has seen some amazing athletes come through the school, including Daton Fix (wrestling), Cheyenne Walden (track and cross country) and Sydney Pennington (softball, basketball) and Scott can be added to that list. He said that greatness comes from within and is achieved through hard work. “A lot of it is self-motivation to be successful, and I know all the amazing athletes before, and including me, had great self-motivation,” he said. Scott seems to love whatever sport he is playing at the time, but it’s been a different this year because of the football recruiting process. When he gets to college he will put wrestling away and focus on football full time. He does think he will miss it. “I will, I think. I’ve been going through this recruiting process and my mind hasn’t really been on wrestling, so when it gets down the road I’ll probably miss it more than I do now,” he said.