Kentucky Glad They Held on to South Carolina DB Quay’Sheed Scott

Quay'Sheed Scott and his family had on their Kentucky gear when he signed with the Wildcats last month. (Brandon Dunn/WPDE-ABC TV Photo)

South Carolina defensive back Quay’Sheed Scott was rated as a four-star recruit by On3, 29th best cornerback in the 2024 recruiting class and No. 5 player in South Carolina.

The 6-0, 190-pound Scott had 68 tackles and three interceptions for Marion High School in 2023 but also averaged 63 receiving yards and 53 rushing yards per game last season. His team finished 10-2.

He was named South Carolina’s Region 8-AA Player of the Year in 2023 and had an  interception in the Shrine Bowl of the Carolinas.

Stoops thought it was “important” that Kentucky held on to him when other schools tried to flip his commitment late in the recruiting process.

“I think the strong relationships definitely meant something. I think the fact that we identified early on what a player he was and that’s not the first time that’s happened,” Stoops said. “We have a tendency to do that. We evaluate in particular some DBs pretty early and he’s one that we’re very high on.

“I think the relationship, the fact that we never wavered on him, he never wavered on us. I think people came in and tried to attack it late. These kids get hit with a lot. To his credit he locked in on us and he knew we were committed to him and very grateful for the strong relationships and the loyalty.”