Penn State center Juice Scruggs goes to the Texans in Round 2
As a child, Frederick Henry Scruggs refused to drink his milk, insisting to be served juice.
So his father, Frederick, named him Juicy, a label that morphed into Juice in middle school, stuck through his days at Cathedral Prep High School in Erie and later at Penn State.
Which was OK with Juice, a Nittany Lions center who was chosen 62nd overall by the Houston Texans in the second round of the NFL Draft on Friday night.
“I don’t really like Frederick that much,” he told reporters before Penn State defeated Utah in the Rose Bowl last season.
The Texans traded three picks to the Eagles — Nos. 65, 188 and 230 — to move into No. 62 to draft Scruggs, who was Penn State’s starting center the past two seasons. He was selected one pick after the Jacksonville Jaguars drafted his Penn State teammate, tight end Brenton Strange.
“My agent told me, Houston, be alert for them. They had interest in me,” Scruggs said on a Zoom chat with reporters Friday night. “I wasn’t expecting it to be in the second round. I’m so thankful for this opportunity, for sure. A moment, I can’t describe it. It’s everything I thought it would be and more.
“I know they drafted me for a reason. I’m ready.”
Even without drinking milk, Juice Scruggs became a big, strong (6-foot-3, 310 pounds) center at Penn State. Now, he’s on his way to Houston where he can compete to be quarterback C.J. Stroud’s center. Stroud was chosen in the first round, second overall, by the Texans on Thursday night.
If he stays at center, Scruggs could compete for playing time with Texans center Jimmy Morrissey, formerly of Pitt.
At Cathedral Prep, Scruggs won four letters and served as captain. In those four seasons, Cathedral Prep was 49-3 and won consecutive PIAA Class 4A championships when Scruggs was a junior and senior.
Scruggs helped the Nittany Lions to a No. 8 national ranking in 2022. He was named third-team All-Big Ten in ‘22 and honorable mention in ‘21 when coaches awarded him the Dick Maginnis Memorial Award as the team’s most outstanding offensive lineman.
Jerry DiPaola is a TribLive reporter covering Pitt athletics since 2011. A Pittsburgh native, he joined the Trib in 1993, first as a copy editor and page designer in the sports department and later as the Pittsburgh Steelers reporter from 1994-2004. He can be reached at jdipaola@triblive.com.
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