As soon as LSU running back Charles Scott got the call from the Eagles saying that the team used the 200th overall selection on him, he knew he had some big shoes to fill.
Not because he felt pressure to replace Brian Westbrook. At LSU's training facility, former Eagles great Steve Van Buren, who is also a former Tiger, is prominently featured.
"I've heard of him, because he's all over the wall," Scott said. "He's all over the wall in the running back room. But I've heard of him most definitely, and it will be motivation to chase. It'll definitely be something to look forward to and something that, like I said, to motivate me to chase that dream. So, I know a little bit about him."
Eagles fans are about to learn a little more about Scott as well. Despite having his senior season cut short due to a broken collarbone, Scott still amassed 2,317 rushing yards and 32 touchdowns over the course of his four years in Baton Rouge.
Scott, however, shared the halfback duties with multiple players over that time. He said he preferred to be part of a rotation rather than handling the load of a No.1 back by himself.
"I don't think it really affected me, as far as sharing time in the backfield with Keiland (Williams) and the other guys," Scott said. "It was more of a good thing because I didn't have as much wear and tear on my body as other running backs would have. I think the only thing that hurt me in the draft this year was my (collarbone) injury and I kind of fell off the grid, and people didn't see me, and it's out of sight, out of mind."
His "misfortune" became the Eagles' gain in the sixth round.
However, had he not injured his collarbone and Tigers' fullback Quinn Johnson stayed healthy too, Scott feels there would be no way he would have slipped all the way to the 200th selection.
As a junior in 2008, Scott carried the ball 217 times for 1,174 yards (5.4 yards per carry) and 18 touchdowns, by far his most productive season at LSU.
"I expected to have a dominant year (as a senior), but we lost a great fullback with Quinn Johnson and kind of had to make us alter our scheme a little bit, as far as our offense goes," Scott said. "We had to give them a little more one-back, and do some things without a fullback that we weren't used to. And that kind of threw off the consistency of our offense. So I kind of feel like that was the main factor of why we weren't as productive on offense."
If he can duplicate those numbers in the NFL, future LSU running backs will be looking at another Eagle pictured beside Van Buren.
-- Posted by Steve Lienert, 7:16 p.m., April 24
