HOUSTON (AP) — When David Montgomery’s mother first put him in Cub Scouts to keep him out of trouble, he was a bit embarrassed because he didn’t think it was for people like him.
But the Houston Texans running back soon fell in love with scouting and it changed his life. He remained active throughout school and in 2014 rose to the rank of Eagle Scout, the highest achievement in Scouting America.
Now 29, he’s grateful for his time as a scout and is working
with the organization to encourage more kids — especially Black children — to follow his path.
“I definitely think it’s a form of fear because the thought of what everybody else around them would think,” Montgomery said. “Definitely think that plays a major role. So, I think me playing football and playing as long as I have and being a positive … role model in regards to scouting, I definitely think it gives kids who look like me an opportunity to believe that that’s something that they can do also."
Montgomery belonged to Scout Unit 772, a Black troop in Cincinnati that has produced 40 Eagle Scouts. Jim McMillan has worked with the troop since before Montgomery joined and is the unit’s committee chairman.
"It’s actually something we take pride in, with David and so many other young men that came in and were not sure of themselves, not seeing scouting for them,” he said. “And then being part of a unit that does everything that everybody else is doing and in some cases more.”
Montgomery credits scouting for keeping him on the right track growing up, not only because it occupied him, but more importantly due to the values it instilled.
“Scouting gave me the right tools to make me understand what’s really right and what’s really wrong,” he said.
By high school, Montgomery was a star athlete and was the starting varsity quarterback by his sophomore year. For some, the demands of football would have made it too difficult to continue scouting.
For Montgomery that wasn’t an option.
“I love playing football, and I’m blessed to be able to have played as long as I have,” he said. “But scouting is another love that I grew fondly for over time and it’s a part of who I am.”
To manage the time crunch, he found a creative way to merge his two loves. For his Eagle Scout community service project, he supported the Mary Magdalen House, an organization in Cincinnati that provides hygiene items, showers and laundry services to the unhoused. He set up boxes at the entrance to his games to manage donation drives and people who brought toiletry items received discounted tickets.
"Seeing that people were happy from something, a small gesture that doesn’t take much outside of you just caring for somebody, just being a part of something like that was special to me,” he said.
Michael Ramsey, the chief marketing officer of Scouting America, said Montgomery’s story of juggling sports and scouting has been an inspiration to many.
“People look at that and go; I can be a scout. I can be an athlete. I can do those things,” he said. “If you can see it, you can be it, and David delivers on that for us.”
Montgomery is proud of his scouting history and often attends events to promote the organization while serving as Scouting America’s first recruitment ambassador. He made a huge statement about his love for scouting in 2024 when he donned the sash adorned with his badges entering the stadium before a game and flashed the three-finger scout sign after scoring a touchdown for Detroit against Green Bay.
Montgomery credits scouting as a catalyst for him to become the man he is today, with character and morals he’s proud to pass onto his son. He also believes it’s played a part in his eight-year NFL career.
“Scouting has helped me an immense amount in order for me to even be playing football for as long as I’ve played,” he said.
Texans coach DeMeco Ryans has talked often about what a good man and teammate Montgomery is since he was traded from the Lions this offseason.
“He’s done a great job of leading, inspiring guys,” Ryans said. “And just the way he works, the way he carries himself, it’s been a pleasure to see."
McMillan said Montgomery displayed those qualities from his early days in scouting, but there was a time in high school when he had to be reminded of who he was.
At a scout meeting the morning after a tough loss by his football team, Montgomery was down and complained that his older teammates weren’t listening to him.
“David, you’re a leader, you have always been a leader,” McMillan said he told Montgomery. “And he smiled. And we never had to have that conversation ever again.”
He also leaned on his scouting leaders when dealing with issues much more important than football. In high school he was moving around a lot and struggling with the death of some people close to him when he attended a scouting camp where they saw he wasn’t himself and sat him down for a talk.
“Things are tough, but you don’t have to go through it alone, and scouting can be a beneficial way to have a healthy outlet,” he said they told him. “You can still do a lot of things positive and you can learn more about yourself and escape from the things that you deal with at home.”
Montgomery loves interacting with kids at scouting events and said they’re often surprised to learn he was an Eagle Scout.
“It gives me a sense of hope that there’s a chance that scouting can do so much more, with all different kind of people across the world if we just give people more knowledge about it and they get more exposed to it,” he said.
Ramsey raved about Montgomery's interactions with the youngest scouts, saying he'll drop to one knee to get on their level to talk with them.
“I’ve got this great picture on my phone someplace of him teaching a little Cub Scout how to hold a football, what that grip looks like,” Ramsey said. “He just immediately connected with the scouts. So, he really allows us to connect in a whole different way at events like that.”
Montgomery hopes that parents interested in having their children join will visit BeAScout.org to learn more about everything the organization offers.
And he’ll be counting down the days until his son, 3-year-old David Jr. is old enough to follow in his footsteps.
“Just being able to see the things that scouting has done for me and me being able to take a step back and see what it’s going to do for my son is the exciting thing,” he said. “I can’t wait until he goes to his first camp outing and I get to go with him.”
___
See AP’s full NFL coverage here
