FAYETTEVILLE — University of Arkansas defensive tackles coach John Scott Jr. is expected to take a job at SEC rival South Carolina and be confirmed in the position today, a source with knowledge of the situation told the Arkansas Democrat-Gazette on Monday.
Scott has been on the Razorbacks staff for two seasons, joining tight ends coach Barry Lunney Jr. as the only holdover on-field assistants to transition onto the Chad Morris staff last year.
The hiring was first reported by Rivals.com’s South Carolina web site, GamecocksCentral.com
A specially called board of trustees teleconference at South Carolina will take place at 9:30 a.m. Central today and the only item on the agenda is a proposed contract in the athletics department, according to The State newspaper of Columbia. S.C.
Scott, 43, is a native of Greer, S.C., located about 100 miles from the South Carolina campus in Columbia, S.C., and his two children live in nearby Charlotte, N.C.
Scott coached the entire defensive line in 2017 and handled the interior linemen last season with the addition of Steve Caldwell.
Scott was an All-Southern Conference defensive end at Western Carolina in 1998. He has coached previously with the New York Jets, Texas Tech, Georgia Southern, Missouri State, Western Carolina and Norfolk State. Under his tutelage, senior Armon Watts had a breakout season in 2018, racking up 49 tackles, including a team-high seven sacks, three forced fumbles and three quarterback hurries and earning an invitation to the East-West Shrine game last Saturday.