He also played on special teams as a kickoff returner, which was the coaching staff's attempt to get him on the field in some capacity because of his speed (4.31 seconds in the 40-yard dash and sub 10.5 seconds in the 100 meters) In 2008, Scott took over as Maryland's starting running back and spent much of the season as the leading rusher in the Atlantic Coast Conference (ACC).

He has two older brothers, Lee Scott Jr., who played football as a defensive back at La Salle, and James, who ran track at Saint Joseph's.

"[2] Despite the absence of his biological father, Scott grew up with the support of his mother, two brothers Lee and James, cousin Leroy, family friend and youth football coach Mike Shaw, and high school athletic director Charlie Forster.

"[5] Scott received scholarship offers from Georgia Tech, Penn State, Virginia, and his ultimate choice, Maryland.

[1] During 2007 spring practice, Scott was third on the depth chart, but suffered a left knee injury, which forced him to miss most of camp.

[1] Despite the team's abundance of running backs, Friedgen wanted to utilize Scott in some capacity because of his speed,[8] which had been recorded at 4.25 seconds in the 40-yard dash.

Scott's special teams performance in that game sufficiently impressed head coach Friedgen that he said, "I think I've got to try to get him involved within the offense.

[1] Against eighth-ranked Boston College, Scott caught a short screen pass from quarterback Chris Turner and ran 57 yards for a touchdown.

I figured we were just giving Lance a rest, but I asked [running backs coach Phil] Zacharias about it Sunday and he started laughing.

At the conclusion of spring practice, it appeared they would share the duties, as they had complementary running styles: Scott had breakaway speed, while Green was a hard runner for short-yardage gains.

[13] However, Green suffered a quadriceps injury that caused him to fall to the third-string position behind true freshman Davin Meggett.

[1] In the first game of the 2008 season against Delaware, Scott ran for 197 yards in his first career start,[15] which was enough to place sixteenth on the list for school all-time single-game rushing.

[1][16] Scott "dominated early" against 23rd-ranked California with 19 carries for 87 yards and two touchdowns, but in the third quarter, he suffered a game-ending shoulder injury.

Florida State, however, dashed Maryland's title hopes in a 37–3 rout in which Scott recorded 82 rushing yards, but fumbled twice.

[28] Against a tough Boston College line, the Maryland rushing attack faltered, which forced quarterback Chris Turner to resort mostly to the pass.

[30] In the postseason, Maryland accepted an invitation to the Humanitarian Bowl to play the Western Athletic Conference runner-up, Nevada.

"[31] Friedgen initially intended to send the offenders back to College Park by bus,[32] but athletic director Deborah Yow convinced him to issue partial-game suspensions instead.

[35] Earlier in the season, Scott set that mark as one of his goals, and he adorned his room with the statistics of the Terrapins who accomplished that feat in the past, such as Chris Downs in 2002.

[36] Scott spent much of the season as the leading rusher in the ACC, but he was eventually surpassed by Jonathan Dwyer of Georgia Tech and finished second in the conference.

[40] He entered summer practice at the top of the depth chart,[41] but Davin Meggett's camp performance was impressive enough to earn a share of the number-one position.

[49] Scott suffered a broken wrist against Clemson, a game that also saw Maryland left tackle Bruce Campbell injured.

The performance prompted Scout.com to note, "It's almost like this stud running back never missed a game for the Terps … it is impressive to see the junior hard at work and making up for lost time.

[53] In the winter, Scott competed on the indoor track team and ran a 60-yard dash in 6.87 seconds,[54] and he claimed to have regained the speed he had in high school.

[59] The following week against Division I FCS Morgan State, Scott, Meggett, and redshirt freshman running back D. J. Adams all averaged over five yards per carry in the 62–3 rout.

[62] Duke held Scott to 26 yards in the first half, but in the third quarter, he caught a short pass from quarterback Danny O'Brien and ran down the sideline for a 71-yard touchdown.

[64] At Clemson, Scott threw a four-yard touchdown pass to quarterback Danny O'Brien on a trick play for Maryland's only score in a 31–7 loss.

[53] Scott was held to negative ten rushing yards on four touches by 23rd-ranked North Carolina State in his final home game on Senior Night, but Maryland still won, 38–31.

[53] In the Military Bowl against East Carolina, Scott rushed for a career-high 200 yards on 13 carries,[53] including two touchdowns on 61- and 91-yard runs,[69] and was named the game's Most Valuable Player.

"[80] At the NFL Combine, Scott ran the 40-yard dash in 4.34 seconds, the fastest time recorded by any of the participating running backs.

[81] Scott secured a spot on the active roster behind Ahmad Bradshaw and Brandon Jacobs with a strong preseason performance.