Former UCLA wideout Eric Scott has been hired as the new Bruin wide receivers coach, football coach Karl Dorrell announced Tuesday.
Scott is the latest in a series of coaching changes and worked last season as an intern for the Bruins. His duties included administrative work and breaking down video of Bruin opponents.
Prior to last year, he worked as an assistant coach at Crenshaw High School in Los Angeles for seven years and coached several UCLA players and current commits.
“Eric is an up-and-coming talent in this profession,” Dorrell said in a press release. “He has a great sense of evaluating talent and developing skill players to reach their potential.”
After transferring from Northwestern, 32-year-old Scott played for UCLA from 1995-1997, earning three letters and a bachelor’s degree in sociology. He caught 27 passes on his career for 372 yards and started five games in his junior season. He also returned punts his senior year, averaging 10.7 yards per return.
He was a prep All-American as a senior in 1992 at Crenshaw High School and played numerous positions including quarterback, running back, wide receiver and cornerback.
Scott will replace former wide receivers coach D.J. McCarthy, who left after one season to coach at LSU in what has been a turnstile of an offseason for UCLA. McCarthy, offensive line coach Jim Colletto and offensive coordinator Jim Svoboda have all left since last season.
Scott can be tabbed as one of the main reasons UCLA has landed talented players from Crenshaw High School in recent years, including 2007 letter-of-intent signee Brian Price. According to Scout.com, Price is a five-star defensive tackle and was heavily recruited by USC.
The other 2007 commit from Crenshaw High School is Raymond Carter, a four-star running back and the No. 16 player at his position in the country, according to Scout.com.
UCLA currently has three players from Crenshaw High School, including defensive end Chinonso Anyanwu, linebacker Reggie Carter and offensive tackle Aleksey Lanis.
With Scott’s hiring, UCLA looks to solidify the pipeline of talent from Crenshaw to Westwood.