Tyler Scott didn't experience a true high school graduation. Rather than celebrating with his fellow students in a stadium packed with family and friends at Norton High School outside Akron, Ohio, he had a slotted time to go to the school and pick up his diploma alone.
When he reached college a couple months later, every course on Scott's schedule was online only. Through his entire experience at the University of Cincinnati, he never stepped foot in a classroom or met his professors face-to-face – the reality much of his peers faced as members of the 2020 freshman class, which was most impacted by the COVID-19 pandemic.
Those lost experiences were a major catalyst in Scott's decision to walk across the graduation stage at Cincinnati last Friday after completing his undergraduate degree in interdisciplinary studies.
Scott, an Ohio native, drove from Canton — where he played in the Bears' first preseason game last Thursday night — to Cincinnati with his family, graduated Friday at 2 p.m., then drove six hours back to Chicago that night to make it home in time for Saturday morning's training camp practice.
"I wanted to be able to walk on the stage, have that moment and be part of the graduation ceremony," Scott told ChicagoBears.com. "To be able to have that moment was special. For my parents, my brother, his daughter and my wife to be there — to have them see me walk across the stage, I know that was truly special for them.
"You get drafted, that's all great and things of that nature, but for them to see me growing all the way up, I know it meant something to them, just as much as it did to me. So I just felt it was important to be there and to just be able to have an opportunity to do that."
When Scott decided to leave college after three years at Cincinnati to pursue his NFL dreams, he was 36 credit hours short of achieving his degree.
On the same day Scott was drafted by the Bears, his now-wife graduated from Cincinnati. Having dropped her off that day at graduation before heading home to wait for a call from an NFL team, Scott knew he eventually wanted to experience what his wife experienced.
After Scott wrapped up his rookie season with the Bears in January, he realized that the next four months were open to do just that. He wanted to take advantage of his free time and got back in contact with his academic advisor, who put him on the same plan that former teammate and now Jets cornerback Ahmad "Sauce" Gardner utilized a year earlier.
Scott's prior experience with online classes allowed him to jump back in quickly and knock out all 36 credits within one offseason.
"I feel like now at this stage, football has blessed me financially and just getting to know different people," Scott said. "But I feel like this is more of a thing I did for my future family. I feel like it set the standard in the household, because last year when I got drafted [was] the same day my wife graduated from Cincinnati, too. So I'm like, 'I kinda feel left out.'"
Finishing his degree and walking across the stage was an important milestone in Scott's life, one he celebrated by having dinner with his family at Smoke Justis — his favorite spot, right along the Ohio River.
When Scott returned to Halas Hall Saturday morning for practice, he was welcomed with a congratulatory handwritten note from general manager Ryan Poles that noted how big of an accomplishment the receiver's graduation was.
Scott is grateful for Poles and coach Matt Eberflus allowing him to stay an extra day in Ohio and be part of the graduation ceremony.
"It shows you that it's important to them, just as much it is to me," Scott said, "and that they care more than just seeing you as a football player and just an investment. They see you as a young man who has a life outside of football, has a family, has different goals and aspirations outside of just the football field. And they respect that. Just the fact that they were all talking about it is just huge. That's huge, man.
"I got texts from multiple coaches after the Hall of Fame Game. Coach Shane [Waldron] and [Richard] Hightower, my receivers coach, Coach [Chris] Beatty, all hit me up just saying, 'hey, man, enjoy the moment, congrats on graduating,' things of that nature. It just showed that they cared, and I love that."
