Young Alabama wide receiver brings every element you’d want in an impact pass-catcher
Several Alabama wide receivers have generated buzz this offseason, but one is standing out over the rest.
Alabama is loaded up with premier wide receiver talent heading into the season. Not only are the top two pass-catchers back from a year ago in Ryan Williams and Germie Bernard, but Isaiah Horton transferred in from Miami, Jalen Hale and Cole Adams are back from injury, Jaylen Mbakwe has been converted from corner and freshmen Lotzeir Brooks and Derek Meadows were signed during the 2025 recruiting cycle.
Rico Scott is also a part of that room. The 6-foot, 196-pound redshirt freshman didn’t play a lot in 2024 (only 89 snaps), but he’s consistently generated buzz all throughout the offseason. That includes during Alabama’s Media Day on Monday.
“Rico Scott, he has transformed his body,” Alabama wide receivers coach JaMarcus Shephard told BamaOnLine. “He’s really bumpy right now, there’s a lot of muscles all over him. He’s really bumpy everywhere. He’s gotten exceptionally stronger, and exceptionally faster. He’s a guy I can count on to go in the game at any position, whether it’s outside, in the slot, at running back.
“I can really count on this guy to go in the game at any position. He’s physically become the version of himself that he thought he would be when he came here as a freshman.”
That’s extremely high praise. Shephard isn’t the only one who thinks so either. Offensive coordinator Ryan Grubb had similar things to say about the young pass-catcher when he addressed the media last week.
“His body transformation from now, even from this winter when I got here to now, I think he was one of the guys who hit the top speed this summer, so one of our fastest guys on the team,” Grubb said. “Super physical player, willing to run through people. And then the level of detail he has in his route running for a young player, and the versatility he can play inside and outside, he’s gonna be a presence this year.”
Germie Bernard even said that Scott ran 23.5 mph during the offseason.
Offseason hype is typically followed by a line of questions to players and coaches that seem to build on that hype. Sometimes, we learn the original hype wasn’t warranted, but that doesn’t seem to be the case here. We’ve been hearing things about Scott, both publicly and privately, even dating back to bowl preparations against Michigan.
Does he start? With Williams, Bernard and Horton all healthy, it doesn’t seem likely, but it has become more and more evident that he’s going to be a big-time contributor in his second season at Alabama. His first with the program seems to have done a lot for him as far as preparing for this opportunity.
“Freshman year was a lot of learning,” Scott told reporters on Monday. “I sat and watched (Germie Bernard) and Ryan (Williams), guys like (Kendrick Law), Kobe (Prentice), (Emmanuel Henderson). It was different, because you know, you come in as a freshman and usually when you come to a place like this from high school you play a bunch of your years. Coming and sitting your first year is hard, but I needed it. I grew a lot, I learned a lot, and I wouldn’t change anything.”
As far where he’s felt like he grew the most this offseason, his answer may surprise people.
“I feel like areas I grew, I would say blocking for one,” Scott said. “In high school I was bigger than most DBs I went against, but you get here and there’s guys my size and bigger. Everybody’s fast, everybody’s strong. I would say from a technique standpoint I had to get better at blocking. People mention my speed, but I also had to learn how to run full speed every route.”
It’s encouraging to hear blocking be a point of emphasis for Scott. First of all, having a willingness to block for teammates was a key element of what made the Ryde Outs so successful in 2018-19. There was a selflessness amongst that group, which is why so many dynamic pass catchers were able to coexist within the same offense. Plus, Grubb told us last week that blocking is a must if you want to play wide receiver at Alabama.
“You wanna have a deep, talented room, and we certainly have that at Alabama,” Grubb said. “So for us, it’s just gonna be who are the guys that are able to consistently do the same thing every day, make the play, make the tough catches, block. It’s a prerequisite to be able to block to play wide receiver here.”
Box checked for Scott.
Yes, the hype train has officially left the station when it comes to the second-year receiver, but this guy brings just about every element you’d want in a pass-catcher. Speed, strength, toughness and physicality, versatility, route-running and effective hands. Not only that, but it sounds like Scott goes about his business the right way.
