The Atlanta Journal-Constitution
New defensive line coach to earn $400,000
Scott joined UGA staff after just six weeks at Ole Miss.
ATHENS — Defensive line coach Tray Scott was hired at Georgia at a base annual salary of $400,000, according to school officials.
While a personnel report released Friday states that Scott will be earning $325,000 in base annual salary, a school spokesman said Scott is also due to earn an additional $75,000 in supplemental income.
Ole Miss was set to pay Scott $375,000 annually, before he decided to leave after just six weeks there to accept the same job at Georgia.
Scott is replacing Tracy Rocker, whose departure from the program was revealed Tuesday. Scott’s hiring was reported a day later.
Georgia hired Scott away from Ole Miss, but he had only been there six weeks. He was North Carolina’s defensive line coach in 2015 and 2016, where he gained a reputation as a players’ coach who could relate to his players, according to one analyst who covered the team.
Ross Martin, who covers North Carolina for 247Sports, pointed out that the Tar Heels’ defense improved over the past two years, coinciding with the hiring of defensive coordinator Gene Chizik as well as Scott. (Chizik stepped down Thursday, with former Georgia assistant coach Mike Ekeler joining the staff.)
“The one big knock on the Carolina defense the last two seasons was the run defense,” Martin said. “This could easily be attributed to UNC not having the players needed to effectively lock down on that side of the ball. But it was certainly an issue during Scott’s tenure in Chapel Hill. Scott was able to develop All-ACC defensive tackle Nazair Jones into a very good player who should be an NFL draft pick this season. You also saw significant in-season growth from many individual players. Scott is a very technical coach who drills down the smallest fundamentals before moving on to the next aspect of a move.”
As for his recruiting skills, Martin said Scott didn’t make too much of an impact in his two years, an admittedly short amount of time.
“He had his hand in a few defensive line commitments, but it wasn’t like he was reeling in four- and five-stars left and right,” Martin said. “I do think he will have success recruiting in the South and SEC country. He gets along well with prospects, can relate to them, and has a great sense of humor.”