Darnay Scott (born July 7, 1972) is a former

American football American football (referred to simply as football in the United States and Canada), also known as gridiron, is a team sport played by two teams of eleven players on a rectangular field with goalposts at each end. The offense, the team with ...

wide receiver in the

National Football League The National Football League (NFL) is a professional American football league that consists of 32 teams, divided equally between the American Football Conference (AFC) and the National Football Conference (NFC). The NFL is one of the ...

for the

Cincinnati Bengals The Cincinnati Bengals are a professional American football team based in Cincinnati. The Bengals compete in the National Football League (NFL) as a member club of the league's American Football Conference (AFC) AFC North, North division. The c ...

and

Dallas Cowboys The Dallas Cowboys are a professional American football team based in the Dallas–Fort Worth metroplex. The Cowboys compete in the National Football League (NFL) as a member club of the league's National Football Conference (NFC) East divisi ...

. He played

college football College football (french: Football universitaire) refers to gridiron football played by teams of student athletes. It was through college football play that American football rules first gained popularity in the United States. Unlike most ...

San Diego State University San Diego State University (SDSU) is a public research university in San Diego, California. Founded in 1897 as San Diego Normal School, it is the third-oldest university and southernmost in the 23-member California State University (CSU) system ...

Early years

Scott attended Sumner High School, where he suffered from academic problems, got thrown off the junior varsity football team after a fight and was arrested, spending a week in a juvenile detention home. He transferred to Kearny High School after his sophomore season, becoming a two-way player as a wide receiver and

defensive back In gridiron football, defensive backs (DBs), also called the secondary, are the players on the defensive side of the ball who play farthest back from the line of scrimmage. They are distinguished from the other two sets of defensive players, the ...

. As a senior, he registered 38 receptions for 790 yards, 19

touchdown A touchdown (abbreviated as TD) is a scoring play in gridiron football. Whether running, passing, returning a kickoff or punt, or recovering a turnover, a team scores a touchdown by advancing the ball into the opponent's end zone. In Ameri ...

s and 11 interceptions. Against Serra High School, he tallied 4 receptions for 141 yards, 3 touchdowns and returned an interception 70 yards for a touchdown. Against Ramona High School, he had 4 receptions for 144 yards, including an 85-yard touchdown. He won the

100 metres The 100 metres, or 100-meter dash, is a sprint race in track and field competitions. The shortest common outdoor running distance, the dash is one of the most popular and prestigious events in the sport of athletics. It has been conteste ...

(10.59 seconds) and

200 metres The 200 metres, or 200-meter dash, is a sprint running event. On an outdoor 400 metre racetrack, the race begins on the curve and ends on the home straight, so a combination of techniques is needed to successfully run the race. A slightl ...

(21.27 seconds) during the CIF San Diego Section

track and field Track and field is a sport that includes athletic contests based on running, jumping, and throwing skills. The name is derived from where the sport takes place, a running track and a grass field for the throwing and some of the jumping events ...

championships. He also practiced

basketball Basketball is a team sport in which two teams, most commonly of five players each, opposing one another on a rectangular Basketball court, court, compete with the primary objective of #Shooting, shooting a basketball (ball), basketball (appr ...

College career

Scott accepted a football scholarship from

, coming in the same recruiting class as future College Hall of Famer

Marshall Faulk Marshall William Faulk (born February 26, 1973) is an American former football running back who played in the National Football League (NFL) for 13 seasons with the Indianapolis Colts and St. Louis Rams. He is widely regarded as one of the grea ...

. As a true freshman in 1991, in his first college play and college game against Cal State Long Beach, he had a 19-yard touchdown reception, finishing with a team-high 88 receiving yards on 4 catches and 56 yards on two kickoff returns. He broke the

NCAA The National Collegiate Athletic Association (NCAA) is a nonprofit organization that regulates student athletics among about 1,100 schools in the United States, Canada, and Puerto Rico. It also organizes the athletic programs of colleges an ...

single-game freshman receiving yardage record with 243 yards against

Brigham Young University Brigham Young University (BYU, sometimes referred to colloquially as The Y) is a private research university in Provo, Utah. It was founded in 1875 by religious leader Brigham Young and is sponsored by the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day ...

(11/16/91), including touchdown passes of 79 and 75 yards. He had one of the best freshman seasons in Aztecs history, even though he was a backup behind Patrick Rowe, posting 35 catches for 727 yards and 6 touchdowns. As a sophomore in 1992, he became a starter after Rowe suffered a season knee injury during an exhibition game. He had the school fifth all-time best receiving performance against

UTEP The University of Texas at El Paso (UTEP) is a public research university in El Paso, Texas. It is a member of the University of Texas System. UTEP is the second-largest university in the United States to have a majority Mexican American stu ...

with 12 receptions for 274 yards (10/17/92) and also scored 3

s. He added another spectacular performance against

Fresno State University California State University, Fresno (Fresno State) is a public university in Fresno, California. It is one of 23 campuses in the California State University system. The university had a fall 2020 enrollment of 25,341 students. It offers bache ...

with 217 yards (11/21/92). Other notable performances included 100 yard games against: New Mexico (100 yards - 10/3/92), BYU (105 - 9/10/92), and Hawaii (132 - 11/14/92). For the season Scott recorded 68 catches for 1,150 yards and 9 touchdowns, leading all SDSU WRs. His success continued in 1993 as a junior, with performances of 139 (Minnesota - 9/25/93), 122 (New Mexico - 10/23/93), 148 (UCLA - 9/30/93) and 160 (Cal - 9/11/93) yards. Against Air Force he had his fourth career 200 yard game finishing with 11 catches for 217 yards and two touchdowns. Once again he led SDSU in receiving as he finished the season with 75 catches 1,262 yards and 10 touchdowns while recording six games of 100 or more yards receiving. In his stellar three-year career he caught 178 passes for 3,139 yards and 25 touchdowns. His twelve 100 yard and four 200 yard performances place him second in school history. At the ime, he was one of only two Aztec wide receivers to record multiple 1,000 yard receiving seasons.

Professional career

Cincinnati Bengals

Scott was selected by the

in the second round (30th pick overall) of the 1994 NFL Draft. As a rookie, he made an immediate impact teaming with

Carl Pickens Carl McNally Pickens (born March 23, 1970) is a former American football wide receiver who played in the National Football League (NFL) for the Cincinnati Bengals and Tennessee Titans. Early life Pickens attended Murphy High School in Murphy, ...

to form one of the NFL's most potent wide receiver tandems. He caught touchdown passes of 55 and 67 yards against the two-time defending

Super Bowl The Super Bowl is the annual final playoff game of the National Football League (NFL) to determine the league champion. It has served as the final game of every NFL season since 1966, replacing the NFL Championship Game. Since 2022, the game ...

Champion

, finishing the contest with 4 receptions for 155 yards. The following week against the

Seattle Seahawks The Seattle Seahawks are a professional American football team based in Seattle. The Seahawks compete in the National Football League (NFL) as a member club of the league's National Football Conference (NFC) West, which they rejoined in 2002 as ...

he turned in yet another spectacular effort with 7 catches for 157 yards (including a 76-yard catch). He finished the season with 46 catches for 866 yards and 5 touchdowns while rushing for 106 yards in 10 attempts. He led all rookies with 866 receiving yards and the AFC in Yards Per Reception with 18.8. His success continued in

1995 File:1995 Events Collage V2.png, From left, clockwise: O.J. Simpson is O. J. Simpson murder case, acquitted of the murders of Nicole Brown Simpson and Ronald Goldman from the 1994, year prior in "The Trial of the Century" in the United States; The ...

as he caught a career long 88-yard touchdown pass against

and the following week caught a 56-yard touchdown finishing the game with 4 catches for 125 yards in a win against the

Houston Oilers The Houston Oilers were a professional American football team that played in Houston from its founding in 1960 to 1996 before relocating to Memphis, and later Nashville, Tennessee becoming the Tennessee Titans. The Oilers began play in 1960 as ...

. In

1997 File:1997 Events Collage.png, From left, clockwise: The movie set of ''Titanic'', the highest-grossing movie in history at the time; ''Harry Potter and the Philosopher's Stone'', is published; Comet Hale-Bopp passes by Earth and becomes one of t ...

he caught the final pass thrown by Bengals QB

Boomer Esiason Norman Julius "Boomer" Esiason (; born April 17, 1961) is an American former professional football player who was a quarterback in the National Football League (NFL) for 14 seasons, primarily with the Cincinnati Bengals. He was selected in the ...

: a 77-yard touchdown reception. His best season as a

professional A professional is a member of a profession or any person who works in a specified professional activity. The term also describes the standards of education and training that prepare members of the profession with the particular knowledge and skil ...

came in 1999 season when he finished the season with 68 receptions for 1,022 yards and seven touchdowns. In

2000 File:2000 Events Collage.png, From left, clockwise: Protests against Bush v. Gore after the 2000 United States presidential election; Heads of state meet for the Millennium Summit; The International Space Station in its infant form as seen from ...

, Pickens was released before the start of training camp and Scott was expected to start opposite rookie

Peter Warrick Peter L. Warrick (born June 19, 1977) is an American former college and professional football player who was a wide receiver in National Football League (NFL) for six seasons. He played college football at Florida State University, and was reco ...

, but suffered a fractured left tibia and fibula during a morning practice on August 1. It was considered a career-threatening injury and he was placed on the

injured reserve list The injured reserve list ( IR list) is a designation used in North American professional sports leagues for athletes who suffer injuries and become unable to play. The exact name of the list varies by league; it is known as "injured reserve" in th ...

on August 2. In

2001 The September 11 attacks against the United States by Al-Qaeda, which Casualties of the September 11 attacks, killed 2,977 people and instigated the global war on terror, were a defining event of 2001. The United States led a Participants in ...

, he regained his starting position opposite Warrick, leading the team with 819 yards on 57 receptions and 2

s. In

2002 File:2002 Events Collage.png, From left, clockwise: The 2002 Winter Olympics are held in Salt Lake City; Queen Elizabeth The Queen Mother and her daughter Princess Margaret, Countess of Snowdon die; East Timor gains East Timor independence, indepe ...

, with the signing of

free agent In professional sports, a free agent is a player who is eligible to sign with other clubs or franchises; i.e., not under contract to any specific team. The term is also used in reference to a player who is under contract at present but who is a ...

Michael Westbrook Michael Deanailo Westbrook (born July 7, 1972) is a former American college and professional football player who was a wide receiver in the National Football League (NFL) and is also a former mixed martial artist. Westbrook played college foot ...

, he was released in a salary cap move on July 9. The additional cap space was expected to also help in the signing of

linebacker Linebacker (LB) is a playing position in gridiron football. Linebackers are members of the defensive team, and line up three to five yards behind the line of scrimmage and the defensive linemen. They are the "middle ground" of defenders, p ...

Takeo Spikes Takeo Gerard Spikes (; born December 17, 1976) is a former American football linebacker who played in the National Football League (NFL). He played college football for Auburn University. He was drafted by the Cincinnati Bengals 13th overall in ...

and

Brian Simmons Brian Eugene Simmons (born June 21, 1975) is a former American college and professional football player who was a linebacker in the National Football League (NFL) for ten seasons. He played college football for the University of North Caroli ...

to contract extensions. Although he only had one 1,000 yard season in his career, Scott is considered one of the best wide receivers in Bengals history. He left as the fourth all-time leading receiver, recording 386 receptions for 5,975 yards, a 15.5-yard average and 35

Jacksonville Jaguars

On July 22,

, he was signed as a

by the

Jacksonville Jaguars The Jacksonville Jaguars are a professional American football team based in Jacksonville, Florida. The Jaguars compete in the National Football League (NFL) as a member club of the American Football Conference (AFC) South division. The team play ...

, with the expectation of being Jimmy Smith backup. He was limited with a chronic shoulder injury during preseason and was released on September 1.

Dallas Cowboys

On September 9,

, he signed with the

, reuniting with offensive coordinator

Bruce Coslet Bruce Coslet (born August 5, 1946) is a former American college and professional football player and professional football coach. A tight end, he played for the University of the Pacific and in 1969 debuted with the American Football League's C ...

, who had also served that function previously with the Bengals. Scott split snaps with rookie

Antonio Bryant Antonio Bryant (born March 9, 1981) is a former American football wide receiver in the National Football League (NFL). He played college football for University of Pittsburgh, and was recognized as an All-American and Fred Biletnikoff Award ...

, appearing in 15 games (one start), with 22 receptions for 218 yards and one

. He wasn't re-signed after the season. In nine years, he caught 408 passes for 6,193 yards and 37

s. He holds the NFL record for most career touches without a fumble (445).

NFL career statistics

Personal life

Scott lives in San Diego. He is active in the community, coaching at Mesa College and mentoring students at Lincoln High School. He is the uncle of former NFL wide receiver Will Franklin.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Scott, Darnay 1972 births Living people Players of American football from San Diego American football wide receivers San Diego State Aztecs football players Cincinnati Bengals players Dallas Cowboys players Kearny High School (California) alumni