Speaking Up
Scott McKillop Stuttering
By Jack Becker

It can still be detected on occasion when he starts to answer a reporters' question. The rapid-fire words that begin to fly out of Scott McKillop's mouth last only an instant before he gathers himself and speaks with confidence.

McKillop, the Pitt Panthers All-American middle linebacker last season, is now a polished speaker, who became the voice of Pitt football. Something that once seemed unlikely for McKillop, who used to stutter so much he had to attend speech therapy.

Then again, knowing McKillop's personality, all he needs is a reason for someone to doubt him, which just winds up being gas on his internal fire.

"Everyone has always doubted him at everything he's done," said Monika McKillop, Scotts' mother. "People doubt him and he keeps pushing to prove them wrong."

The youngest of three boys, McKillop developed a stutter as a child. It forced him to go to speech therapy from second through sixth grade.

"You don't' notice it much when you're younger," McKillop said. "Speech therapy was something I did every day. Once a week, a teacher would take me out of class and work with me. As a kid, I looked at it as I got out of class and got to come back with candy."

Stuttering affects nearly three million Americans of all ages, although it is more prevalent in children. His family pushed McKillop to work on the issue.

"He did get ripped by his brothers when he was younger," Monika McKillop said. "I think that's why he's quieter than the others. We would make fun of him. We'd say, 'Scott, stop it,' when he'd stutter and I think it helped. He'd stutter when he got excited.

"Stuttering is not something wrong physically. It's mental. You have to think more slowly, stop and think."

In speech therapy, McKillop learned how to counteract his tendency to stutter.

"They taught me to be comfortable, be confident, slow down and enunciate," McKillop said. "Don't let your mind go faster than your mouth."

The stuttering persisted for McKillop up until about five years ago, his arrival at Pitt from Kiski Area High School. Even early in his Pitt career, McKillop would struggle communicating.

"It's funny because [Scott's older brother] Chris [McKillop] was always spoken to by reporters," Monika McKillop said. "Even in college early on it was Chris doing the interviews and Scott was very comfortable with that."

"I remember when I first started, I used to get hassled by [former Pitt defensive coordinator Paul] Rhoades when I was making the calls in the huddle. I tried to get the calls in quick and I put a bunch of calls together and the guys would just look at me. [Coach Rhoades] would bust my chops."

So when McKillop saw his opportunity to be the starter at middle linebacker after H.B. Blades graduated, he took it upon himself to improve his verbal skills, working with E.J. Borghetti in the Pitt sports information department.

"I did some things to help sharpen my tools. Those that knew me when I first came to Pitt would say I'd done a complete 180 from my sophomore year to now," McKillop said.

McKillop soon became the face and voice of the Pitt Panthers defense. Not only did he evolve into a great player, McKillop morphed into the number-one option for media members for pre-game and post-game interviews as well as television and radio live hits.

"If you can communicate well, it's an opportunity to get your name out there," McKillop said. "Being in the limelight, you need to speak well. As you go to the next level, you are a representation of your team. If you can't communicate, there aren't going to be any microphones in front of you. When I go back home, old coaches, old teachers they compliment me. They say, 'I see you on TV. You do really well speaking in interviews.' Whenever I'm at certain events where I have to speak, I'd get nervous before. Now, I'm confident. I definitely enjoy it now."

With his improved speech, came confidence.

"Not just confidence but his leadership ability too," Monika McKillop said. "Doing media interviews gave him a little swagger. He was able to say to himself, 'I am that good.'"

Like he did replacing Blades on the field and overcoming his speech impediment, McKillop is out to prove doubters wrong again in the NFL draft this month.

"For the last year, all you heard was how great he is," Monika McKillop said. "Now all you hear are the things where people are picking him apart, saying he's too slow, not ripped muscularly."

Depending on where you look, McKillop is rated as a top six inside linebacker in the 2009 draft class, projecting as a third or fourth round pick. He trained in California, where he finally got to concentrate on eating healthy, something he couldn't always do in college. Then at the NFL combine in February, he ran as low as a 4.6 40-yard dash time.

"People didn't expect much out of me at the combine," McKillop said. "You are labeled a slow, unathletic player. It's just a label. I put up good speed times for linebackers. I performed well. So that's what I wanted to do.

McKillop is the first home-grown All-American for Pitt since Bill Fralic in 1984. He led the Panthers in tackles each of the two years he started and led the entire NCAA in tackles in 2007. McKillop's sure of his own talent, but not so sure of his draft stock.

"I'm excited but it's pretty nerve-wracking," McKillop said. "Lot of things can happen. You can go up or down. All I can do is surround myself with a lot of family and good friends and hope for the best."

"All we have to get is one team that likes him," Monika McKillop says.

One thing is for sure, when McKillop gets that chance to prove himself in the NFL, he won't stutter the least bit. He's already licked that problem.

McKillop says, "Like I did my whole career, I'll go out and prove people wrong."