Cincinnati Bearcats: Former St. Xavier, NFL player Greg Scruggs joins UC football staff

Tom Groeschen | Cincinnati Enquirer

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Greg Scruggs is back home.

The 27-year-old Scruggs, a former St. Xavier High School star and NFL player, recently joined the University of Cincinnati football staff as Director of Player Development. A journey that began in his high school band and morphed into two Super Bowl championship rings certainly has not been your standard life story.

"I’m back where it all began," Scruggs said. "I'm so happy to be at the university and so happy to be back in Cincinnati. This is nostalgic for me, to be able to go see and do places that as a 17-year old it was hard to appreciate."

At St. Xavier, Scruggs spent three years in the school marching band before joining the football team. St. Xavier football coaches had tried to get Scruggs to come out and finally succeeded, and Scruggs became an immediate standout as a defensive lineman. Scruggs had nine sacks and 57 tackles for the Bombers' 2007 Ohio Division I state championship team.

Scruggs then played at the University of Louisville and became a seventh-round draftee by the Seattle Seahawks in 2012. Scruggs played in the NFL from 2012-16 with Seattle, Chicago and New England, and he won Super Bowl title rings with both Seattle and New England.

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His career, much like many who reach the NFL, ended before Scruggs was ready to retire.

"I was coming off ACL (knee) surgery and was debating continuing to play, or hanging them up," Scruggs said. "I actually wanted to continue playing."

That is where the NFL's Legends Development program came in. The program provides retired players the chance to grow their careers by gaining business experience and exposure in the New York league office, mostly involving opportunities that are not in front of a camera or in a coaching capacity.

"I reached out to somebody at the league office and said, 'I’m just rehabbing and golfing,' " Scruggs said. "Can I just come up to see what’s going on at the league office as it pertains to life after football? I was looking at the business aspect because I knew that opportunity was there."

The NFL program runs for about six months at a time. Scruggs began his program last fall and stayed through May 2018, specializing in player marketing and communications.

"I loved every second of it," Scruggs said. "I was fully immersed into the corporate setting and what would life be like when I got out of football."

Along the way, word came that the UC Director of Player Development job had opened. The previous director, former UC player Doug Rosfeld, left in December to become head coach at his prep alma mater Moeller High School.

"It came across my desk, and I realized I hadn’t spent more than two weeks at home since I left for college," Scruggs said. "Here was an opportunity to make an impact with young men who were trying to find their way. With all the experience I’ve had collegiately and professionally and the ups and downs, I just prayed about it and felt that this was my purpose."

FICKELL IMPRESSED: UC head coach Luke Fickell had several applicants for Rosfeld's job, and Fickell took notice when Scruggs aggressively pursued the position. St. Xavier head coach Steve Specht – who coached Scruggs in high school – also put in a word for his former player.

"I think the first thing that jumped out to me was that (Scruggs) actually went online and filled out the application and everything because he wanted to be here," Fickell said. "Steve Specht also reached out and brought his name up to me. To see that it was something he really wanted to do, that meant the world to me."

Fickell said that some who take Player Development jobs hope to use them as springboards to on-field coaching positions.

"It's unique to find a guy like Greg that legitimately wants to just be a part of young men’s lives," Fickell said. "They don’t have the burning desire to say, 'I want to have a chance to be a coach someday.' That's Greg. It is a true home run because it was big shoes for us to fill, because of what Doug Rosfeld had provided. Greg's ability to relate in so many different ways to our kids is unbelievable."

ON THE JOB: Scruggs' job description involves working directly with the players, providing mentoring and ensuring they are adhering to the program goals and policies regarding intellectual, social, leadership, physical and skill development. Scruggs also will help manage many of UC's off-the-field initiatives, including the Bearcats' community service efforts.

"I was fortunate to go to Super Bowls and play with Tom Brady, Russell Wilson, Richard Sherman and Julian Edelman and many more," Scruggs said. "I'm not going to talk about that much with the kids, because I want them to understand that that's not who I am. You're going to be who you are. It's going to be different for you than it was for me. Follow whatever path life takes you."