Panthers DC says rookie Nic Scourton can ‘smell a rat,’ and that’s a good thing
When Nic Scourton goes hunting on the football field, he relies on his intangibles as much as his athletic ability.
The second-round pick trusts his instincts, and he lets his senses and his endurance do a bulk of the work when he’s wearing a Carolina Panthers jersey and helmet.
Defensive coordinator Ejiro Evero has a vivid way of describing the rookie outside linebacker’s intuition on the turf: “He knows he can smell a rat.”
The coordinator isn’t complimenting Scourton’s literal sense of smell. He’s acknowledging that Scourton’s other intangibles — particularly his field awareness, vision and processing ability — can help him diagnose formations and plays he’s studied throughout the week.
Scourton’s feel for what the opposing offense is trying to accomplish is particularly noticeable on play-action fakes and screens through his first six NFL games. Evero’s illuminating metaphor for Scourton’s rapid reactions might come off a bit rough around the edges, but the rookie embraces that description as praise.
“Just knowing when there’s something up, something’s not real — they’re trying to trick me or play with my eyes — it’s just like having those instincts helps me, like, ‘Something’s not right,’” Scourton told The Observer. “It’s just now building that confidence to really, just truly, understand like, ‘OK, this is me, I know these plays, and I’m confident in them.’ So, I think that’s just it, and I make those plays in practice all the time.”
Scourton has yet to notch his first sack in the NFL. But while his work around the quarterback needs to improve, the 21-year-old edge-setter is impressing his coaches and teammates with his study habits and football IQ, and how he uses both to make an impact beyond the standard pass-rushing arsenal.
‘A sense for reading things’
Scourton spent nearly his entire football career at Travis B. Bryan High School at the inside linebacker position. His work in space put him on the map in Bryan, Texas, and he didn’t convert to outside linebacker until he was asked to switch in an all-star game following his senior season.
The time at inside linebacker helped Scourton develop instincts he wouldn’t otherwise have as a career pass rusher. He was able to diagnose blocking schemes and spy on quarterbacks as a stacked defender, and those processing habits have stuck with him on the edge.
“I just kind of got a sense for reading things,” Scourton said. “Just taking it back to my (inside) linebacker days — a guard is pulling, I’m watching the guards, knowing the plays I’m taking — I guess it just kind of retained with me when I moved to outside linebacker.”
Scourton developed detailed study habits during his three-year college career, which started at Purdue and ended at Texas A&M. He also studied longtime standout NFL pass rushers, like Brandon Graham and Khalil Mack. He produced 17 sacks over three college seasons, but he earned a reputation of being an all-around defender. Scourton could be moved around the formation, and he could stop the run, much like the NFL mainstays he studied.
Scourton’s football IQ stood out during the pre-draft process earlier this year. Panthers GM Dan Morgan and his scouting department appreciated his natural athleticism and skills, but the evaluators also fell in love with intangibles.
Since arriving in Charlotte, Scourton has only backed up his pre-draft appeal.
“I think our scouting staff, led by (Morgan), identified early on — even before we got him on board — that this guy is high-level intelligent, (has) high-level workmanship, high-level football intangibles,” Evero said. “And so we were excited. We were very glad that we were able to draft him, obviously. And everything that we’ve seen since we got him has kind of verified what we saw before.”
First one to answer
Scourton’s voice has become a popular sound in Panthers meeting rooms. His teammates have noticed that he has a knack for answering questions from coaches in a hurry.
And while that might make him seem like a know-it-all or a teacher’s pet, Scourton has another reason to be vocal.
“It helps me,” Scourton said. “Answering the question helps me more than it can help anybody else. Just making sure I’m confident enough to say it in front of an entire room full of people, who I know are going to judge me if I answer it wrong. It helps me more than anything, so it is what it is.”
Princely Umanmielen, Scourton’s draft classmate and a fellow outside linebacker, has been impressed by Scourton’s ability to process information. The pair studied together during training camp, and Umanmielen was able to see Scourton’s retention skills up close.
“It seems like his brain moves really fast,” Umanmielen said. “Whenever a coach asks a question in the meeting room, like, ‘What do we got here?’ Nic answers it. He’s always the first person to answer.”
When Scourton and Umanmielen arrived in Charlotte in May, first-year outside linebackers coach A.C. Carter paired the rookies with veteran mentors in the position room. D.J. Wonnum and Patrick Jones — who was shut down for the season with a lower back injury this week — took the Day 2 draft picks under their wings.
Scourton’s commitment to his craft has been apparent to Jones.
“He’s just always willing to learn,” Jones said last week. “I think that’s the biggest thing. You can tell him something, and he’s going to apply it. And it’s just so cool to be able to watch him do that.”
Seek and destroy
During the first quarter of Week 5’s comeback win over the Miami Dolphins, Scourton used his metaphorical rat-sniffing awareness to perfection. On back-to-back plays in the red zone, Scourton made the Dolphins wish they hadn’t tested his senses.
On first-and-10 from the Carolina 14-yard line, with the Dolphins surging into scoring territory, Scourton made running back De’Von Achane taste turf at the line of scrimmage. Miami ran a pre-snap motion with wide receiver Nick Westbrook-Ikhine to Scourton’s side of the field. But the rookie defender didn’t flinch — he ran through Westbrook-Ikhine’s blocking attempt, which led Achane right into Scourton’s road block.
That early stop set the tone against the Dolphins’ rushing attack, as the Panthers held Miami to just 19 yards on 14 carries throughout the afternoon.
On the next play — second-and-10 — the Dolphins ran an ill-fated screen. Left-handed quarterback Tua Tagovailoa flung a short pass behind the line of scrimmage to wide receiver Malik Washington. Scourton watched the entire play develop and immediately tackled Washington upon completion of the pass for a 1-yard loss.
The back-to-back momentum-killing takedowns put the once-flowing Dolphins offense in a third-and-11 look on their opening drive. With the down and distance against them, defensive end Derrick Brown took Tagovailoa down for a sack and a loss of 10 yards.
Miami would settle for a 43-yard field goal. The rat in this scenario was effectively trapped, in large part because of Scourton’s work on the early downs.
“He’s literally improved every week he’s played, because when you prepare the way he does, when you work the way he does, and you get those game reps and game experience, you’re going to get better,” Evero said.
When the Panthers drafted Scourton in April, Morgan acknowledged his playmaking endurance. That “motor” has helped him hide potential pitfalls in his play as a rookie. And teammates have noticed that on film.
“One of the reasons why he always looks like he’s in the right place is because he’s always hustling,” safety Nick Scott said. “He’s always running and playing at 100 miles per hour. And so when you can do that, that can make up for a lot. Not that he’s out there making mistakes, cause a lot of the times he is in the right place at the right time, but even if he’s not, even if a play is away from him, he’s got that same effort as if the ball-carrier is coming towards him.
“So, he’s been doing a great job, just growing in this game,” Scott added. “I haven’t seen any rookie lull or wall or anything like that. It’s very evident that he’s supposed to be here, and he’s playing at a really high level.”
Finding an edge
As Scourton continues to grow, and seek his first NFL sack, he is keeping himself grounded and regimented.
The 6-foot-2, 257-pound defender takes vigorous notes throughout the week on his iPad. He reviews the “pages on pages” of information as he prepares for each opponent. Scourton then rewatches film from his college career on Saturday nights to help him build up his confidence and remind himself that he has had success wherever he’s been.
Scourton knows his professional career is just beginning, but he feels secure within the confines of his Bank of America Stadium support system.
“I’m honestly grateful that they drafted me here,” Scourton said. “And then I’m so grateful that I have coaches that believe in me. Like believe in me and think highly of me. I guess I just want to keep proving that to them. So, I just got to go out there and keep working and keep getting better, so I can be as much service to this team as possible.”
Scourton has the desire to be great, and he’s taking the necessary steps to get to that level. He’s also mature enough to understand he has to earn his opportunities and make the most of them.
The Panthers’ draft history is littered with examples of players who flashed and never met their potential because they lacked the gumption to be more than just physical freaks. Scourton doesn’t want to be part of that list, and his actions show he’s doing everything he can to put himself in position to be part of a more flattering pocket of Carolina lore.
