Bam Martin-Scott is heading into his final year as a Gamecock, and his path to South Carolina was anything but ordinary.
Martin-Scott grew up in Fort Wayne, Indiana. During high school, he was smaller than most, and wasn’t getting much attention from colleges. His flying under the radar could be blamed on his size and the now linebacker was playing safety. Until finally, he hit a growth spurt during his senior year.
Because he hit his stride later than most, the schools interested in him weren’t what he had in mind – Marian University and the University of Saint Francis. Martin-Scott decided to take his chances and head to Dodge City Community College and pursue the JUCO route.
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“I started training with my personal trainer back at home and he went to school with one of the coaches back in college. So he knew him and he sent my film to him and also sent some workouts of me working out. So we already knew that, not trying to be cocky, but I was too good to go NAIA, so I didn’t want to take that route,” Martin-Scott said in a Garnet Trust Hour interview this week on 107.5 The Game. “But I heard of the JUCO route with Cam Newton, and I knew of some JUCO guys, so I felt like that was the best decision for me and I just bet on myself and things came to fruition.”
Martin-Scott played one season for Dodge City and then had his second year cut due to COVID-19. However, his one year of tape proved enough for Power Five schools to take notice.
Unable to take in-person visits, Martin-Scott took “visits” through Zooms and phone calls, but continued on his recruiting journey. Under the leadership of Will Muschamp, South Carolina was the first to extend him an offer.
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“I’m thinking everything is good, you know, like I’m happy I got my first offer in the SEC and I always wanted to play in the SEC,” Martin-Scott said. “Then later on, when I got back to school, I found out that he got fired. So I was kind of upset because I was leaning more towards South Carolina anyway, and then Coach Beamer had called me and extended the offer, so I was like that’s nothing but God, I gotta go.”
Martin-Scott had never stepped foot in Columbia before he signed with the team. He’d only heard stories of Williams-Brice through teammates from South Carolina and knew it wouldn’t compare to the environments he’d experienced.
“I thought I was going to be starstruck, and then going into a big city, like when I first drove down here and I saw the buildings and everything, I’m like ‘Oh this a big city,’” Martin-Scott said. “Like I was kind of nervous, like ‘Oh man,’ but when I got here, it felt like family so I kind of adapted quick.”
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