Photo courtesy of Norfolk State athletics
In what could be considered a surprise, Norfolk State’s head football coach, Latrell Scott resigned Wednesday morning. Scott left to “pursue another career opportunity”, per a release from Norfolk State’s athletic department.
That opportunity is at East Carolina. Scott was tabbed to fill the tight ends and inside receivers coaching vacancy. That spot was vacated by Fontel Mines when he was hired on by Old Dominion last month.
Scott was hired by Norfolk State in 2015 after head coaching stints at Richmond and Virginia State. Scott led Virginia State to the second round of the Division II playoffs in his final season. He left without losing a game in conference.
As an assistant, Scott has also worked at Virginia and Tennessee as the wide receivers coach.
In five seasons at Norfolk State, he achieved less success than he did at his previous two head coaching jobs. Scott went 4-7 in each of his first four seasons and 5-7 in his final season. Scott, 45 years old, has been coaching since 1999 when he became an assistant at Fork Union.
An Interim
According to the release, William Sherman, assistant head coach, will be tagged as the interim head coach for the Spartans.
Much like with many other HBCUs, there was no season for the Spartans in 2020. The roster returns senior leadership including wide receiver Justin Smith, quarterback Juwan Carter and linebacker Matt Hodges. In 2021, the Spartans will also boast a few high-end transfers including former Liberty defensive back Tayvion Land and former ODU defensive back Austin Wood.
The freshman class for Norfolk State includes quarterback Chris Price from Landstown (Virginia Beach), defensive back Devon Allen from Ocean Lakes (Virginia Beach), running back Brent Stratton from Nansemond River (Chesapeake), linebacker Ikeem Wright from Lake Taylor (Norfolk), and running back Lex Henry from Salem (Virginia Beach).