For the past three months, Jeter’s son — former North Carolina football player Tim Scott — has been in Mississippi training, anxiously waiting to wow NFL scouts at UNC’s Pro Day and improve his chances of being selected in the NFL draft.
“His idea of making it to the NFL was that he always felt like he was the man of the family, and he just felt like, ‘I have to do this for my family,’” Jeter said.
“But I told him he’s got to do it for him. He has to enjoy each step and do it for himself.”
And, on Tuesday, that opportunity finally came. Scott came one step closer to achieving the dream he’s had since he started playing Pop Warner.
Coaches, reporters, family members and current and former teammates dotted the Navy Field sidelines Tuesday morning and watched as Scott and nine other Tar Heels tried to impress the 30-plus NFL scouts in attendance during a variety of workouts.
“It was pretty much a job interview. This is what my life plan on being on,” said defensive tackle Ethan Farmer. “I want to try to finish my career out in football. I want to go to the next level, and today I think I proved it.”
The morning started at the Kenan Football Center, where each player’s height and weight were measured before completing bench press reps at 225 pounds, the broad jump and the vertical jump.
Scott, who recorded a team-high 78 tackles during the 2014-15 season, separated himself from the rest of the group with a 9-foot-8 broad jump and vertical jump of 33.5 inches.
