ATHENS — Jason Simpson’s face lit up Tuesday at the mention of Georgia defensive line coach Tray Scott.
Simpson, longtime head coach of the Tennessee-Martin Skyhawks, gave Scott his first full-time job in college football. He hired Scott to coach the Skyhawks’ defensive line in 2013.
Scott remained with Simpson for two seasons before landing a job at North Carolina. It was from there that Kirby Smart plucked Scott, who has coached the Bulldogs’ defensive line since 2017.
Georgia, by the way, has had some pretty good D-lines since Scott has been aboard. Simpson has taken notice.
“I love Tray Scott,” Simpson said. “He’s a great person, a great family man, has a great wife.”
Scott and his wife, Sarah, whom he met while they both attended Arkansas Tech, now have two sons, Julian and Torian.
Scott was a graduate assistant coach at Ole Miss under Ed Orgeron before Simpson convinced Scott to join him in Martin. Simpson knew Scott, who was a four-year letterman at Arkansas Tech, was exceptional at teaching the fundamentals of football. What he wouldn’t discover until later was Scott’s acumen as a recruiter.
“He learned how to recruit at a high level,” Simpson said. “I’d walk into the building at 7 a.m., and coach Scott would be waiting on me with the cellphone. You know how Tray is, funny and animated, and he’d scream at the top of his voice, ‘Coach Simpson, we’re hunting; we’re ‘cruitin’, and he’d have the phone there and put it to my face to talk to a recruit. The guy’s just a tireless recruiter, and he’s great at it.”
Scott has overseen some of the better defensive lines in Georgia history the past few years. Smart has rewarded the 39-year-old, accordingly. After the latest in a series of raises and contract extensions over the years, Scott will earn more than $1 million this year.
Including bonuses and other sources of outside income, Simpson makes about $250,000 annually as the Skyhawks’ head coach. This is his 18th season at the helm of the Ohio Valley Conference school.
Simpson couldn’t be more proud of his former colleague.
“I’m very proud that Tray worked here with us and still consider him a friend,” Simpson said. “I just think the world of him.”
New quarterbacks
While Simpson has been fully engrossed with his team as it prepares for No. 1 Georgia, he also has kept close eyes on the University of Alabama’s preseason practices. Simpson’s son, Ty Simpson, is one of five players competing to become the Crimson Tide’s starting quarterback this season. Heading into the first week of the season, it appears to be a close race between Simpson a redshirt freshman, and Tyler Buchner, a graduate transfer from Notre Dame.
But coach Nick Saban is dropping no hints and has given no indication he will make an announcement before Saturday’s opener against Middle Tennessee.
“That’s a tough deal,” Jason Simpson said. “I’m sure they’ll put the guys out there they think gives them the best chance. I thought maybe I should have done that, too.”
The Skyhawks will be debuting new starting quarterback Kinkead (pronounced kin-CADE) Dent against Georgia. The 6-foot-4, 210-pounder is a graduate transfer from Ole Miss, where he played sparingly the past few seasons and got the majority of his work as a placement holder on field-goal attempts.
“He’s been fun to work with,” Simpson said of Dent. “It’s a work in progress. I think you’ll see him continue to grow. He wasn’t here in the spring, so you’re only talking about 20 practices. But last night was probably his best practice, and we’re excited about him.”
As for that Bama quarterback competition, Simpson said he talks to his son every day about it and reads everything he can find on the internet.
“I’m a dad first,” he said. “You know, whether it’s my daughter playing high school basketball or my youngest son playing middle-school football, I’m a dad first, and I’m there to support them and be a sounding board for them.”
Georgia connections
Tennessee-Martin’s Daylan Dotson is a 6-3, 280-pound junior defensive end and preseason FCS All-American. A product of Savannah and Jenkins High School, Dotson led the OVC in both sacks (9.5) and tackles for loss (14.5) last season.
Of him, the Bulldogs are well aware.
“You’re talking about No. 1, right?” Georgia center Sedrick Van Pran said. “I’ve seen him, and he’s really, really quick. Likes to move around and make explosives. He’s the type of guy if you take your eyes off of him, he could make a quick play. Definitely taking an account of what he can bring in the run and pass game.”
The Bulldogs are breaking new starters at both offensive tackle positions in Amarius Mims and Earnest Greene. They have some pretty good tight ends, too.
“We play against some really good dudes here, too,” Georgia’s Brock Bowers said of Dotson. “I feel like that gets us ready for any kind of matchups we’re going to get, this week and the rest of the season.”
Dotson is one of several Georgia players on Tennessee-Martin’s roster. Others include Cal Camp (Madison), Jermaine Cooley (Dublin), Armar Gordon (Perry), Davion Hampton (Marietta), Shawn Hardy (Kingsland), Jevon Johnson (Kennesaw) and Broderick Tommie (Marietta).
About the Author
