Who the hell is that guy?... Trevor Scott

One of our best segments on CelticsLife has always been the What the Hell Happened to series. As I don't have the knowledge of obscure players from the Patriots heyday that TB does about the Celtics, I decided to take a different approach on PatriotsLife.

Bill Belichick is famous for stocking his roster with plenty of no-name players. His team is littered with undrafted rookies, cast-offs, and bargain bin free-agent signings. Often times this causes even the most devoted Patriots fans to say during a game, "Who the Hell is that guy?"

My favorite moment was during a Sunday Night Football broadcast in 2011 vs the Jets. They were introducing the Patriots defense in the graphic where each player comes up at the bottom of the screen and states their name and college. When the broadcast got to Sterling Moore and Jeff Tarpinian (two Patriots starters that night) there was no audio or video, just a short awkward silence and a still picture.

Never be confused about who the hell is on your team again. I present to you.. Who the hell is that guy?


Trevor Scott is a defensive end who was selected in the sixth round of the 2008 draft by the Oakland Raiders. This season, he's your fourth string defensive end!

Attending the University of Buffalo, Scott started out as a tight end - which he played some of in high school - and was eventually switched over to defensive end where he shined. I bet he's glad that happened! He had 10 sacks his senior year and was an All-Conference selection.

Scott was awarded the Ed Block Courage award for returning from a serious knee injury in 2011

Scott was actually very impressive his first two years in the league. He appeared in every game in his rookie and sophomore seasons, had 12 sacks and 43 tackles. One cool stat about Trevor Scott is that his first two sacks were of Brett Favre.

As promising as those first two years seemed, his third season was cut short by a torn ACL but he returned the following year to make a minimal impact.

When the Patriots signed him this off-season it was seen by some as a bit of steal, according to Bill Williamson - who runs the AFC West blog for ESPN:

"I think he could be perfect for Bill Belichick's defense as a rotational guy. He's not an every-down guy, but he has some real natural pass-rushing burst. He could be a potential steal."

Scott also played some outside linebacker with the Raiders, that versatility is probably what attracted Belichick.

One of the advantages to being a Raider, Scott (right) spends some quality time with NFL legend John Madden at a Bocce charity event.

The hoodie brought Scott to the Patriots on a one-year deal on March 19th, 2012. His thinking was probably that the Pats could perhaps get more of the 2008-09 Scott. So far, that hasn't worked out.

Scott has missed two games with a hamstring injury and his snaps have been limited. With Chandler Jones, Rob Ninkovich and Jermaine Cunningham playing so well, he hasn't seen the field much on defense. However, he is contributing any way he can - playing on the front lines of the special teams unit.

So what is it that keeps Scott going everyday?

He credits his parents as mentors in life, instilling in him at a young age the importance of hard work, per ESPNBoston's Mike Reiss:

"I'd say my parents [Mike and Leah O'Leary]. My mother growing up, we had some things going on in our lives and she had to take us in by herself. She did a helluva job and then when she married Mike, she and him have always pushed me and my other brothers to be the best we can, just to have that hard-working attitude. They taught me to work hard and that there is no substitute for hard work; you can get wherever you want to go if you work hard. I always came about it with that mentality. That's why I feel like I'm where I am."

That's an attitude that I'm sure Bill Belichick loves!