Who is Jeremy Scott and how can he help the Panthers?

The Carolina Panthers have made some shrewd moves to boost their staff during the offseason, but is Jeremy Scott the MVP of them all?

With the Covid-19 virus essentially shutting down the country, all 32 teams are being affected by the inability to begin their full offseason conditioning program. Before coronavirus panic swept the country, the Carolina Panthers would have started their first sessions under the watchful eyes of head coach Matt Rhule and his staff.

The offseason strength and conditioning program would normally consist of a voluntary nine-week and is conducted in three phases:

Phase one consists of the first two weeks of the program with activities limited to strength and conditioning and physical rehabilitation only. The second part would have involved on-field drills that focus on individual player instruction and team practices.

Phase three would last for a period of four weeks and involves ten days of organized team practice activity. Even though the league and the NFLPA agreed that virtual workouts and instruction were able to begin last month. These on-site sessions are still delayed and the Panthers are still waiting to hear when that will change.

Speaking on the subject, general Marty Hurney had this to say on the topic to the Panthers’ official website.

"“We are still waiting for the league to tell us when that starts. We don’t have a date yet. We have worked hard to get ready for whenever we get the green light and have video conferencing with our players, But right now it’s a lot like going into the draft — we are getting prepared for all of the scenarios and waiting to see when we can move forward."

The league will eventually give the go-ahead and the players will come together when it is safe to do so. They will officially begin establishing the foundation of what Rhule wants.

This is a physical and fast football team judging by his free agency moves and NFL Draft picks. The issue is that the time to get that accomplished will be reduced. By how much is an unknown at this point so having the ability to get the Panthers’ new-look roster up to speed in the shortest amount of time will be the ultimate goal.

The person that will be able to make that possible is Jeremy Scott, the new strength and conditioning coach of the Carolina Panthers.

While he may not be providing instruction to the players in practice. He will be the one to get them physically ready to not only participate, but to excel. The helmet and pads weigh anywhere from 8-12 pounds, which holds heat. And a player can get very heated in the Spartanburg summer during training camp practice, if they are permitted to do so once social distancing measures are relaxed.

More from Cat Crave

• 3 pros and cons to the Carolina Panthers trading for Jalen Ramsey
• 5 prospects the Panthers must monitor at 2023 NFL Combine
• 4 realistic goals for Panthers GM Scott Fitterer in 2023 free agency
• Bobby Wagner release should put Carolina Panthers on red alert
• 4 Carolina Panthers players who need a monster offseason in 2023

Scott is also responsible for assisting the players in getting stronger and faster so that they can compete against some of the finest athletes on the planet on game day. The last thing the Panthers’ need if they want to be successful is to see their formidable defensive linemen getting mowed over for lack of conditioning.

The new appointment led the Baylor strength and conditioning program as the director of athletic performance. Prior to that, Scott spent four years as the head strength and conditioning coach at Temple from 2013 to 2017 and in 2012. He spent one year working as an assistant varsity strength coach at Princeton University.

He already has a head start on what Rhule is expecting out of this group. This appointment has followed on from a series of former staff members in the college system who have rejoined him in the NFL.

Scott’s coaching career began in 1996 at Penn State University as an intern with the program.  Following his internship, he joined the strength and conditioning staff at PSU as a graduate assistant and earned his master’s degree in health education in 1999.

Scott stayed with the program as the team’s speed development coach and assistant strength and conditioning coach until 2012.  He graduated from Lock Haven University of Pennsylvania in 1996 with a degree in fitness management, before earning his master’s in health education from Penn State in 1999.

Scott will know he has a tight window to get the roster ready for the challenges that lie ahead. His resume suggests he is more than capable of shouldering such a responsibility.