David Montgomery says Scouting helped him recover from major injury

When it first happened, David Montgomery didn’t even realize he was hurt.

It wasn’t until he consulted with team doctors the next day that the Detroit Lions running back and official Scouting America spokesperson realized he had suffered a torn medial collateral ligament on a second-quarter play in a Dec. 15, 2024, game against the Buffalo Bills.

At his weekly news conference, Lions head coach Dan Campbell said it looked like Montgomery would require surgery that would keep him from playing for the rest of the season.

“David’s so tough, man, he continued to play through it,” Campbell said. “He’s the ultimate teammate and the ultimate competitor. We’re going to miss him.”

But Montgomery had other ideas. After consulting with more doctors, he declined to have surgery and instead attempted to fast-track his recovery via a vigorous rehab program.

It wouldn’t be easy.

Montgomery, who made an appearance at Scouting America’s 2025 National Annual Meeting this week in Orlando, Florida, told me that he leaned on his Scouting training to get through it.

“Scouting created in me the realization that when you fall, you have to attempt to get back up,” he says. “I credit Scouts for helping me believe that I could be exactly who I wanted to be. I hit that rehab really hard.”

Don’t call it a comeback

With the playoffs looming, Montgomery didn’t have much time. After rushing for a combined 183 yards in three playoff games the previous season — the most rushing yards in one postseason in Detroit Lions history — Montgomery desperately wanted to get back on the field.

On Jan. 14, 2025, he was a full participant in the Lions’ practice. Four days later, he played in Detroit’s playoff game against the Washington Commanders.

The goal was to get to the Super Bowl. Unfortunately, fate had other ideas. Just as the Lions had advanced to the NFC Championship Game the season before, the Commanders were 2024’s team of destiny. Washington beat Detroit 45-31, ending the Lions’ season a few games short of their ultimate goal.

Montgomery says Scouting has helped him deal with that loss too.

“I’m a focus-on-where-my-feet-are-right-now kind of guy,” he says. “I’ve learned to just let things be what they are. You can’t control or change anything about the past.”

Now completely healthy, Montgomery is a full participant in Detroit’s organized team activities, the voluntary offseason workouts that go a long way to making sure the players are ready to go when practice starts in July.

A storied history on the field and in Scouting

Montgomery was one of 17 Eagle Scouts to play in the NFL in 2024. In October of that year, he was named an official Scouting America ambassador.

Montgomery joined Scouting as a Cub Scout in his hometown of Cincinnati. He earned the rank of Eagle Scout from Troop 772 in 2014. His Eagle Scout project was collecting toiletries for people without homes.

Montgomery said that throughout high school, he had two loves: Scouting and football.

“I had to learn how to prioritize what was important to me,” he says. “Scouting was important to me. And it still is. When I completed my Eagle Scout project, it was like, now I can go play football. Football was important, but Scouting was far more important.”

Since then, he’s had a lot of big moments: playing in college at Iowa State, getting drafted by the Chicago Bears and playing in huge games with the Lions.

One more goal remains: helping Detroit get to the Super Bowl. He thinks Scouting will have him ready for that too.

“For me, Scouting and sports went hand in hand,” he says. “Things as simple as building a fire or talking to my other Scouts have helped me on the field. If a moment ever seems too big or too pressurized, I’m able to sit back and say, ‘I’ve been here before. This moment is for me.’

“Maybe not with a helmet on my head and the ball in my hands, but I’ve been here before.”