Early Life
Scott was born on May 26, 1988 in Conshohocken, Pennsylvania to Gloria and Lee Scott, Sr. 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. When Da'Rel Scott was eight years old, his parents had a falling out, which prompted his father to leave the family. Thereafter, Lee Scott, Sr. was no longer involved in raising his sons and would often miss scheduled visits. Da'Rel Scott said, "He just kept letting me down. Just day by day, I was thinking, 'I need a father figure in my life.'" In high school, his attitude changed, and he said, "I don't need him." 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 Foster.
He attended Plymouth Whitemarsh High School in Plymouth Meeting, Pennsylvania, where he was a four-year letterwinner in football, track, and basketball. In track during his junior year, he won the state championship in the 100-meter dash with a time of 10.56 seconds. In football, Scott was a three-year starter and played as both a tailback and free safety. During his senior year, he rushed for 2,523 yards and 38 touchdowns on 232 attempts. As both a junior and senior, he received the Maxwell Award for the conference player of the year. As a senior, The Times Herald named him the area player of the year, the Associated Press named him an all-state player, and he was invited to the Big 33 Football Classic all-star game. SuperPrep named him an all-region player. Rivals.com rated him a four-star prospect and assessed him as the 21st-ranked "athlete" recruit in the nation. Scout.com assessed him as a three-star prospect, and wrote of him, "This kid can flat out fly. He runs a sub 10.5 100 meters, and a sub 21.0 200 meters. Scott needs to get physically bigger to be a college running back; he may project better as a wide receiver or cornerback." Scott received scholarship offers from Georgia Tech, Penn State, Virginia, and his ultimate choice, Maryland. In 2006, he enrolled at the University of Maryland, where he studied kinesiology.
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