Winning a national championship at Ohio State is supposed to be the moment that launches a career forward, not the start of a professional grind just to stay on a roster. Rightfully, in the 2025 NFL draft, 14 Buckeyes were selected, and this year’s draft class is shaping up similarly. But not every career follows that path. For one member of Ryan Day’s title-winning roster, the climb has already hit another setback after being cut by a pro team right in his own backyard.

According to reports, former Ohio State tight end Gee Scott Jr has been cut from the UFL’s Columbus Aviators roster.

UFL is increasingly becoming popular among players at Ohio State. In 2026, seven former Buckeyes landed on UFL rosters. Regional teams like the Columbus Aviators also have a partnership with regional teams like Ohio State and get three regional pick allocations, enabling them to tap into local talent. UFL also offers a minimum salary of $64,000 per year, enabling players to work as professionals while charting a comeback or a transition to coaching.

Scott Jr. was selected in the UFL’s draft in January, along with former OSU offensive lineman Matthew Jones, and returned to Columbus for the 2026 season with the Aviators. But now he’s been abruptly released without any explanation, marking it the latest turn in a career that has rarely taken the straightforward route.

Scott Jr.’s trajectory to Ohio State began in his high school when OSU extended him an offer in 2018. Despite having offers from teams like Florida, FSU, Washington, and Wisconsin, Scott Jr committed to Ohio State on Christmas 2018, terming it a major holiday gift. But he wasn’t a tight end then. He played as a wide receiver for his high school team and only later at Ohio State, the Seattle, Washington native switched roles.

Despite Washington offering later in mid-2019, after Scott’s OSU commitment, he chose to remain loyal to the program and ditched his in-state program. His decision was driven by OSU’s prestige and development record of receivers, along with the team’s “brotherhood” culture. Scott Jr’s father, too, explained his son’s decision, implying deeper values of Ohio State.

“Listening to him talk over the last two days, it’s crazy how much he talks about his brothers (his teammates), and less about himself,” Scott Sr said. “You commit with selfish reasons, but then you develop into someone that is the opposite of what you were…. The preparation and the will to be better than you were yesterday, with a bunch of others that want the same thing, is a lesson in life that not many get.”

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Scott Jr finally arrived at Ohio State, but his transition to tight end didn’t fare as well as he would have wanted.

In his 5 years at Ohio State, the Seattle native managed just 393 receiving yards for 4 touchdowns, while he was still utilized as a pass blocker. Going into the NFL draft, Gee Scott Jr was viewed as a late-round player. His most productive season came in 2024, when he recorded a career-high 27 catches for 253 yards and two touchdowns across 16 games, modest numbers, but a reflection of his evolving role in a loaded offense.  At OSU’s Pro Day, Scott ran the 40 in just 4.60 seconds and had a 35-inch vertical jump, so the tangibles are there.

He preached determination and collective dominance throughout. “We all have a common mission. We all just want to win. There’s a lot of unselfishness on our team,” Gee Scott Jr said during OSU’s natty run. Now it remains to be seen what Scott Jr lands with those tangibles.

Yet his impact went beyond the stat sheet, nowhere more clearly than during Ohio State’s College Football Playoff semifinal against Texas. With the game tied late in the fourth quarter, Scott caught a short pass on third-and-9 and fought through contact to squeeze out four extra yards, turning what would’ve been a tough fourth-down decision into a manageable two yards. That effort directly set up the drive that produced the game-winning touchdown.

Ohio State offensive coordinator Chip Kelly later pointed to the moment as a quiet turning point.

“Sometimes you look at games and there are plays that go unnoticed,” Kelly said. “But his effort after contact to make it fourth-and-2 was huge. That’s Gee. Whatever it takes to win, whatever role you want him to play, he’ll play it.”

The play reflected the identity Scott built within the program, a player willing to handle the dirty work on a roster filled with stars.

However, when the 2025 NFL draft came, there were no takers for him. Though two teams took him as a free agent, both of those stints were also shortlived like his USF stint.

Hard lessons and near misses mark Gee Scott Jr.’s journey

The 6’3″ and 238 lbs tight end was eventually taken by the New England Patriots as a free agent on May 29, 2025. Although he played three pre-season games for the team and remained on the roster till October 2025, when the Patriots released him. Opportunities again were scarce, but the Washington Commanders came calling for him on December 16, 2025, as a member of their practice squad.

But just like the Patriots, the Washington Commanders also let go of the tight end eventually. The UFL stint then seemed like one last-ditch attempt for Scott Jr to salvage something from his career. And now the trajectory looks tougher than ever.

But again, he is no stranger to such adversity. Scott previously faced heavy criticism after a costly penalty against Michigan in 2022, and off the field, he endured the loss of his mother in 2021, a loss that deeply impacted him and yet strengthened his faith. 

Faith became a central part of his journey, with Scott often writing Romans 8:28 on his eye black as a reminder of resilience through adversity. By Ohio State’s championship run, he had evolved into one of the team’s spiritual and emotional leaders.

“We’ve all been through hurt, hardship, tears, everything,” Scott said during the postseason. “I truly believe it all led us to where we are today.”

Now, as another chapter closes with the Aviators, Scott Jr finds himself in familiar territory facing uncertainty once again, but leaning on the same resilience that carried him through the toughest moments of his Ohio State journey, even when recognition never came easily.