By River Mitchell
@rivermitchell27
On the gridiron, Springfield College defensive linemen Aaziah Scott and JT Kinsey make the crowd roar with their hard-hitting plays and grit on the front line. But what the cheering fans don’t know is that behind the scenes, the two players’ relationship is stronger than ever.
Scott and Kinsey grew up in Savannah, Ga., and found themselves playing on the same team – and at the same position – at New Hampstead High School in Bloomingdale, Ga., about 10 miles west of Savannah. After graduating in 2023, Kinsey decided to venture almost 950 miles away from home and enroll at Springfield College. The next year, Scott followed him to Alden Street – which is a rare sight considering they are from the same town and high school.
They frequent the Alumni Hall dorm’s common room, battling out intense games of ping pong while also dishing out trash talk over video games.
However, it didn’t always used to be this way.
Scott and Kinsey didn’t even start playing with each other until Scott’s sophomore year of high school. Before getting to know each other, Scott went to school in Savannah his freshman year but was forced to move schools because of the location of his school district. Scott then enrolled in New Hampstead his sophomore year, and after a bit of a transition he and Kinsey became friends pretty quickly.
“I wasn’t talking to anyone because I was in that community for a long time. It’s so different here,” Scott said. “I didn’t talk at first, but we played the same position, so we naturally became friends.”
After playing on the same team for the next two seasons, Kinsey graduated and had to figure out what he was going to do after high school.
Nic Keene, an assistant football coach at Springfield College, previously held a coaching position at New Hampstead, and coached Kinsey there. Keene suggested to Kinsey that he should apply to Springfield College.
Kinsey applied, visited the campus, and quickly realized Springfield was where he wanted to spend his time.
“I was talking to a couple Division I schools, but I wasn’t really getting that same reaction that I was getting from here,” Kinsey said. “So, when it was time to make a decision, it was pretty easy for me.”
The school also made an impression on Kinsey in other ways. Head coach Mike Cerasuolo wished Kinsey a happy birthday when he hadn’t even committed to Springfield yet, also texting him on random days to check up on him.
The energy he got from Springfield was unlike any other.
Meanwhile, Scott was being heavily pursued by another team. However, Kinsey played a big role in his commitment to Springfield. Kinsey came back to Savannah and gave Scott a great review, and he also got in contact with Keene, who really wanted him on the team as well.
“As time went on, I was itching to just come so bad,” Scott said. “I’ve been with Kinsey for so long, playing another four or five years with him sounds perfect.”
Similar to Kinsey, it was the effort made by the coaching staff and everyone else on the team to get him to not only join the program, but just to check in and make sure he was doing well.
“I remember a few weeks after my visit, it was around Christmas time. Coach [Cerasuolo] was like, ‘Merry Christmas, hope you’re doing well,’” Scott said. “I’m like, ‘Wow, I really do appreciate it.’ He’s a guy I want to play for and that was a really good sign.”
Now that both Scott and Kinsey are donning maroon and white, they’ve had the chance to show the Pride what they got from the Georgia duo. Through Oct. 3, Kinsey had six solo and six assists in four games, while Scott added five solo and 13 assists.
“It’s really good. We built such good chemistry now,” Scott said. “Us being on the line together, just being comfortable with my brother next to me makes me play just a little better. I just feel unstoppable when I’m on the line with him.”
“Playing with him, even back in high school, was just a confidence booster,” Kinsey said. “If I see him doing good, that’s gonna boost my confidence. I’m pretty sure if he sees me do good, that’s his juice, right? Playing with him again just feels amazing.”
Scott and Kinsey even created their own pregame ritual, which encompasses walking and talking to soothe any nerves. Before their game against Union College on Sept. 20, their weekly ritual stuck with Scott.
“I’m always nervous for a game, but this game was underlined,” Scott said. “[Kinsey] was like, ‘Bro, you got it.’ So far, that was our best game. Already I got a good memory with [Kinsey] not even a month into football. There’s much more to come, without a doubt.”
The conversation did exactly what their pregame ritual was intended to do.
“I felt the energy shift,” Kinsey said. “I was telling my boy, ‘Just look around, you can do this.’ [I had] a great game.”
The Union game was when the Georgia natives announced their arrival. Taking the majority of the reps as the two defensive tackles on Springfield’s defensive line, Kinsey and Scott dominated the Union offensive line. They combined for 10 total tackles including a tackle for loss, while constantly creating pressure and batting down passes on passing plays.
Beyond the friendship the two have built, they also love the culture of the program’s brotherhood. The two friends are excited to be a piece of that moving forward.
“We just want to keep the culture going, having this brotherhood and expanding the brotherhood,” Kinsey said. “Even playing with some of the guys who aren’t from my hometown, I’ve built some relationships over time. But I say playing next to Scott is just like a dream come true.”
Photo Courtesy of Springfield College Athletics