By Patrick MacCoonRecord Sports EditorScott Lathrop has seen plenty of success throughout his college football career, in which he has amassed 40 total touchdowns.However, even after starting two seasons at Southeast Missouri and his junior year at Missouri Southern, the dual-threat quarterback feels as if he needs to prove himself once again entering his final campaign.Lathrop this fall will play under the newly assumed leadership of first-year Lions Head Coach Denver Johnson. He will also look to make a strong return from a torn labrum, which he suffered to his right-throwing shoulder against Fort Hays State on Nov. 8, 2014.“I like what Coach Johnson has been doing with the program so far,” said Lathrop, who led Warrenton to state as its starting quarterback in 2010. “He is a high character guy and has brought intensity to our practices. I want to prove to him that I can play with the best of the best. I have proved myself before to several coaches and feel confident I can do it again.”With fall camp having opened this week for Missouri Southern, a Division-II program in the Mid-America Intercollegiate Athletics Association, Lathrop feels comfortable about his arm strength. For the past two months he has been able to throw the football without any setbacks.“Right now, my arm is just about to where it was last year,” the expected starting quarterback said. “Throwing through fall camp will get my arm right back to 100 percent I expect. I still do rehab sessions right now, but it’s felt good to throw the ball again.”While over Lathrop’s college career he has completed 57.2 of his passes and thrown for 3,005 yards and 23 touchdowns, his toolkit provides much more than dropping back and connecting with receivers.The 5-foot-11, 180-pound quarterback also likes to take advantage of his speed and awareness to create first downs and scores with his legs. In 26 career starts, Lathrop has 460 rushes for 1,783 yards (3.9 yards per carry) and scored 17 times.“I’ve never been a big-arm quarterback,” he said. “I want to beat you with my feet, my mind and my arm when I need to.”In his first season after departing from the Football Championship Subdivision level, Lathrop gained respect from his teammates by his competitive edge on the gridiron. His ability to stretch the field was on display once again as he averaged 51.9 rushing yards per game in seven starts.The Warrenton native helped the Lions average 34 points per game and four rushing touchdowns when starting behind center.“They respected me when I came in from SEMO, but I wanted to prove them I wasn’t thinking I was better than anyone else,” he said. “I wanted to prove to them I was a great teammate. I also didn’t want anything to be handed to me.”While Lathrop didn’t top his career-high 179-yard rushing performance from his freshman season in a road victory against Austin Peay, a strong performance against a school that overlooked him stands out as one of his favorite college moments.“We played against Central Missouri last season and they were a school I had been interested in playing football for, but they didn’t want me,” he said. “I had 93 yards rushing and played really well. Even though we lost, it felt good to go out there and show them I was capable of playing strong football at this level.”Not only is Lathrop excited to return back from his shoulder injury, but he is also eager about the chance to be the leader of a spread offense after starting in a triple-option attack last season.The thought of having more room to run and time to react while being in the shotgun fits even better for the expected starter.“I’m going to have my chance to run the ball again with some option looks, but we will throw a lot of short passes too and try to throw deep at times as well,” he said. “There’s going to be so much more space to work with and the spread offense opens up the game for me. I feel more comfortable a few yards behind center.”The Lions will open the season on Sept. 3 at home against Emporia State and look to bring a high-scoring offense to the field.“My goal is to have a winning record,” he said. “Hopefully the wins come first and then the numbers come for me. I’ve enjoyed my college career and want to end it with the best season yet.”
Missouri Southern quarterback Scott Lathrop runs past Central Missouri defenders towards the goaline in a Oct. 4 matchup last year. Lathrop finished with 93 rushing yards and 87 through in the air in an overtime affair. The senior quarterback hopes to finish his career strong for the Lions this season.
Missouri Southern State University Athletics photo.
