Artavis Scott has quietly put together a strong season for Clemson, on and off the field

Clemson receiver Artavis Scott doesn’t get the same attention as Deshaun Watson and Mike Williams, but the Tigers’ under-the-radar playmaker has quietly put together a special season, both on and off the field.

Scott graduated from Clemson last month, accomplishing one of his biggest goals from when he signed with the Tigers – and doing so in three years.

“I’m the first one to graduate from my family, so it’s awesome to see the smile on my mom’s face,” Scott said.

A couple of weeks later, he had two catches in the Fiesta Bowl against Ohio State to up his career total to 242, which breaks the school record of 240, held by Sammy Watkins.

The Tigers have a number of receivers currently playing in the NFL, including Watkins, DeAndre Hopkins, Adam Humphries and Martavis Bryant, but Scott has more catches than all of them.

“Among the great people who played here, it’s a good accomplishment for me,” he said. “That’s not even one of the things I thought about. One of my goals was just graduating, being the best I could be when I came here.”

For the season, Scott has 73 catches for 608 yards and five touchdowns. In addition to excelling on offense, Scott is also a key contributor for the Tigers on special teams. He has returned kicks and punts and has made four tackles on special teams.

Scott made one of the biggest plays of Clemson’s season when he returned a kickoff 77 yards to set up a touchdown in the fourth quarter against Louisville after the Cardinals had taken a 36-28 lead.

Clemson co-offensive coordinator Tony Elliott sees Scott as the total package.

“The Louisville game, he popped that big return that put us in position to win that game. His leadership and his experience and he’s a fiery guy that motivates the guys. He’s a great leader,” Elliott said. “Even when he’s not touching the ball, his presence on the field and the ability to bring him in motion and the threat of getting the ball to him makes defenses have to defend us a certain way.”

Clemson coach Dabo Swinney added Scott deserves more credit than he gets for everything he’s accomplished with the Tigers.

“Everybody talks about Deshaun, but Artavis graduated in three years, too, and in three years he’s the leading receiver in the history of Clemson,” Swinney said. “We all know there’s been some great ones to come through, but this young man is an incredibly underrated football player that has grown as a man and has a bright future.”

Scott would love nothing more than to cap his year and Clemson career with a win in the national title game at Raymond James Stadium, which is about 20 miles from Scott’s hometown of Clearwater.

“It’s a great opportunity. I’ve never played in the Bucs’ stadium,” he said. “When you’re younger, you get to play in that stadium if your team is good, but my team wasn’t that good, so it’s a great opportunity.”

This story was originally published January 8, 2017 at 4:24 PM with the headline "Artavis Scott has quietly put together a strong season for Clemson, on and off the field."