I REMEMBER BEING ABLE TO

GO HOME AND TELL MY PARENTS,

I'M GOING TO GO TO COLLEGE

ON A FOOTBALL SCHOLARSHIP

AND IT IS NOT GOING TO COST

YOU A DIME.

ALL YOU HAVE TO DO IS COME

TO THE GAMES AND CHEER.

I WENT TO UNIVERSITY IN

1998, AND I WOULD COME BACK

FROM PRACTICE MY SENIOR YEAR

AND I WOULD HAVE SEVEN OR

EIGHT MESSAGES FROM

DIFFERENT AGENTS, THEY WANT

TO REPRESENT ME.

APRIL 22, 2002, WATCHING THE

NFL DRAFT, AND I ANSWERED MY

PHONE AND IT WAS MARVIN

LEWIS ON THE LINE.

HE WAS A COORDINATOR FOR THE

WASHINGTON REDSKINS, AND HE

SAID, ARE YOU READY TO BE A

REDSKIN?

AND I SAID, DEFINITELY,

YES.

AND TO SEE MY MOTHER'S FACE,

THINGS MY BABY TOLD ME AS A

FIVE OR SIX-YEAR-OLD KID, HE

IS NOW FOCUSED ENOUGH TO

MAKE IT HAPPY.

IT WAS A REALLY GOOD DAY.

I GOT TO THE NFL AND I

STARTED ENJOYING SOME OF THE

THINGS THAT CAME WITH IT.

I GOT LESS FOCUSED ON SOME

OF THE THINGS I NEEDED TO DO

TO STAY IN THE NFL.

I SPENT A LITTLE LESS TIME

IN THE WEIGHT ROOM.

I WAS GOING INTO MY SECOND

YEAR.

AND I GOT RELEASED FROM THE

REDSKINS.

I WENT BACK TO MY HOME AND

SAT THERE QUIETLY.

MAYBE ABOUT TWO OR THREE

HOURS, THINKING ABOUT WHAT

WAS NEXT.

I FELT LOST.

I LOOK AT MY PHONE AND I SEE

THIS VERY DIFFERENT AREA

CODE.

IT IS MARVIN LEWIS ON THE

PHONE AGAIN.

CRAIG SCOTT, ARE YOU READY

TO BE A CINCINNATI BENGAL?

I TOLD HIM, YES, I'M READY.

I GOT REFOCUSED.

I WAS PUTTING IN THE

NECESSARY TIME.

GOING INTO THE 2006 SEASON,

I MADE THE ROSTER.

AND THEN THE SECOND WEEK OF

THE SEASON, THAT'S WHEN I

GOT CUT.

YOU HAND IN YOUR PLAYBOOK,

YOU PACK UP, AND YOU COME

HOME.

IT WAS HUMBLING, MAN.

IT WAS HUMBLING.

BECAUSE BEING THIS NFL

DEFENSIVE LINEMAN, YOU FEEL

INVINCIBLE, AND YOU'VE BEEN

THROWING PEOPLE AROUND FOR

FOUR OR FIVE YEARS.

AND NOW FOR THAT NOT TO BE A

PART OF YOUR D.N.A. ANYMORE,

YOU WON'T BE DOING THAT

EVERY DAY ANYMORE, IT KIND

OF FELT LIKE, WHO ARE YOU

NOW?

I SIMPLY TOLD PEOPLE, HEY, I

GOT RELEASED.

THEY DECIDED ON ANOTHER

DIRECTION.

AND THEN THE NEXT QUESTION

COMES, WHAT ARE YOU GOING TO

DO NOW?

AT THAT TIME, I DIDN'T

KNOW.

AND ANSWERING THOSE

QUESTIONS AT THAT TIME WAS

HEARTBREAKING FOR ME BECAUSE

I DIDN'T KNOW WHAT WAS GOING

TO BE NEXT.

PRETTY MUCH ABOUT FOUR OR

FIVE MONTHS I STAYED IN

BECAUSE I DIDN'T WANT TO

DEAL WITH THAT KIND OF

STUFF.

THERE WERE TIMES WHEN I HAD

$250,000 IN THAT ACCOUNT.

AND NOW I'M STRUGGLING TO

KEEP $200 IN MY ACCOUNT.

I CAN'T MAKE MY TRUCK

PAYMENT ANYMORE.

I GET A CALL FROM A FOREIGN

PHONE NUMBER ON MY PHONE

THAT I'M GETTING MY TRUCK

REPOSSESSED.

I DROVE OUT TO A CHURCH

ABOUT FIVE MILES FROM MY

MOM'S APARTMENT.

THAT TRUCK WAS THE LAST

THING I HAD FROM MY NFL

JOURNEY.

I HAD GOTTEN RID OF ALL OF

THE JEWELRY, CARS, HOUSES,

EVERYTHING.

I GOT OUT OF THE TRUCK, AND

I REMEMBER LOOKING IN THE

CAR AND SEEING MY MOM

CRYING.

I HAD ALWAYS SEEN MOM CRY

ABOUT MY ACHIEVEMENTS.

SO THAT BOTHERED ME.

THAT -- H'MMM.

SEEING THAT TRUCK DRIVE

AWAY, AND I WAS RIDING BACK

TO THE HOUSE, AND THAT WAS

PROBABLY ONE OF MY LOWEST

POINTS I HAD BEEN AT.

BECAUSE I HAD NO MONEY.

I HAD A DAUGHTER, YOU KNOW.

I HAD JUST A LOT OF EMPTY

THOUGHTS AND FEELINGS.

I FELT LIKE A HAS-BEEN.

I REALLY STARTED PRAYING AND

I STARTED THINKING, WHY NOT

GOING BACK TO DOING THE

THINGS YOU WERE DOING EVERY

DAY BEFORE, YOU KNOW.

TAKING THE ISSUES AND

PROBLEMS YOU HAD TO GOD AND

ASKING HIM TO HELP YOU.

AND SO I STARTED DOING

THAT.

AND THE MORE I DID THAT, IT

SEEMED LIKE THE DOORS

STARTED TO OPEN FOR ME

AGAIN.

I STARTED THINKING, WHAT CAN

I DO TO TALK TO YOUNG KIDS

WHO MAY HAVE DREAMS, GOALS,

AMBITIONS OF BEING SOMETHING

AWESOME, SOMETHING NO ONE

ELSE THINKS THEY CAN DO.

WHAT CAN I DO TO HELP KEEP

THEM ALONG THAT PATH,

MOTIVATE THEM TO STAY

ATTACHED TO THAT DREAM?

ONE THING LED TO ANOTHER,

AND THE FOUNDATION WAS

BORN.

IT STARTED INITIALLY ABOUT

FOOTBALL CAMPS.

I STARTED HEARING ABOUT KIDS

NOT BEING ABLE TO EAT.

KIDS COMING BACK TO SCHOOL

HUNGRY.

I IMPLEMENTED THE PROGRAM.

I STARTED FEEDING THREE

SCHOOLS, EVERY DAY, MONDAY

THROUGH FRIDAY.

I HAD A YOUNG KID TELL ME

THAT, MR. SCOTT, IF IT

WASN'T FOR YOUR PROGRAM, I

WOULD LEAVE SCHOOL AND HAVE

TO FEND FOR MYSELF AND I

DIDN'T KNOW WHAT I WOULD EAT

UNTIL I GOT BACK TO SCHOOL

THE NEXT DAY.

THAT'S WHAT MOTIVATED ME.

BECAUSE I'M IN A POSITION TO

DO SOMETHING ABOUT THIS, AND

IT WOULD BE A SIN FOR ME NOT

TO.

THAT THREE SCHOOLS WENT TO

10.

10 WENT TO 17.

17 WENT TO 29.

29 SCHOOLS WENT TO 40.

WE NOW FEED 4,000 KIDS EVERY

DAY IN AFTER-SCHOOL

PROGRAMS.

GOING TO BED EVERY NIGHT

KNOWING THAT 4,000 KIDS ARE

BEING ABLE TO EAT SIMPLY OFF

A VISION, AN IDEA THAT I HAD

FIVE YEARS AGO, IS A

WONDERFUL FEELING.

I THINK MY FAITH IS THE MAIN

REASON I'M DOING WHAT I'M

DOING NOW.

WITHOUT CONTINUALLY PRAYING

AND ASKING GOD FOR GUIDANCE,

I DON'T THINK I WOULD HAVE

GOTTEN TO THIS POINT.

EVEN WHEN YOU THINK YOU'RE

GOING THROUGH SOME OF THE

TOUGHEST TRIALS AND

TRIBULATIONS, GOD IS ALWAYS