LIVE OAK — The thought of playing college football was always on the mind of KJ Scott. Starting with the youth football camps he attended at Florida State University, continuing on at Suwannee Middle and Suwannee High, Scott dreamed of playing in college.    

That dream became a reality on Wednesday when he signed to play with Georgia Military College. 

“I always thought about college football,” Scott said. “Sitting in front of the TV and watching on Saturdays. 

“I fell in love with the (GMC) coaches. I think its a perfect fit. I think I can really mature at this school.” 

A three-year starter, Scott was the anchor of the Bulldogs’ defense at linebacker. Suwannee coach Kyler Hall, who took over in 2016, saw Scott’s work ethic and talent first-hand the past two seasons.   

“KJ was a worker. He wanted to be great,” said Hall. “A young man that wanted to be coached. 

“He was one of the first kids when I took this job they were telling me about. Coach (Matt) Jackson called me and said, ‘we got this linebacker. He’s going to be really good.’”

Scott will look to continue the Suwannee tradition at Georgia Military Academy. SHS grad Waymon Ford played at GMC.  

GMC went 8-2 last year and finished in the top 20 in the National Junior College Athletic Association (NJCAA) rankings. The football program had 34 student-athletes join on National Signing Day on Wednesday. The class was comprised of 19 players from Georgia, eight from South Carolina, four from Florida, two from Alabama and one from North Carolina. 

“Selling student-athletes on Georgia Military isn’t a tough sell,” GMC coach and athletic director Bert Williams said in a release. “We were very excited about the recent news of our No. 1 state and No. 14 national ranking by thebestschools.org, but to be honest, we have had great results for many years. The secret is finally getting out. We have sent over 550 young men out to four-year programs of all levels — in football alone — all of our programs do great work, and I am excited to see the academic strength of our school recognized.”