Friday Night Drive’s 2023 Defensive Player of the Year: St. Ignatius’ Justin Scott

Justin Scott was never supposed to be in this moment.

He wasn’t supposed to travel across the country as one of the top recruits in the nation, meeting some of the most-prominent college coaches and NFL Hall-of-Famers.

He wasn’t supposed to help transform St. Ignatius into one of the top teams in Illinois.

He wasn’t even supposed to be playing high school football.

Scott was supposed to be a basketball player, but fate had other plans. His decision to give football a shot as a freshman not only changed his life forever but also shifted the trajectory for St. Ignatius.

“I did not see myself in this position,” Scott said.

It’s one that almost any player dreams about. Scott signed his letter of intent to play college football with Miami last week as a consensus top-10 Class of 2024 prospect in the nation. That came after Scott helped the Wolfpack win a CCL/ESCC Green title and reach Class 8A quarterfinals.

College football programs became obsessed with him while high school football coaches in Illinois started to have nightmares about him. He transformed games throughout the year and became one of the most dominating players in Illinois. For his season, Scott is the 2023 Friday Night Drive Defensive Player of the Year.

“There’s been so many firsts with him being a part of the program,” St. Ignatius coach Matt Miller said. “He was definitely a big part of us continuing our ascension.”

That ascension started thanks to some convincing. Scott lived and breathed basketball and the NBA his entire life, never giving football more than a thought when he sometimes played catch with his family or friends.

But football came into his life once Miller reached out to Scott’s mother as an incoming freshman and asked if he wanted to come out for football. Scott was hesitant at first, but he finally decided to give football a chance after his friend Luciano Tufano convinced him to go.

“I still say thank you to this day,” Scott said.

Scott’s football career had a slow start because of the COVID-19 pandemic but he played on the sophomore team as a freshman and quickly earned attention on the Wolfpack coaching staff. He moved up to varsity as a sophomore and suddenly it felt like the whole college football world knew about a 6-foot-4, 310-pound defensive lineman who just played his second year of competitive football.

Despite the attention, Scott focused on getting better technically and not only relying on his size. He helped the Wolfpack win their first playoff game as a sophomore and then reach the Class 6A semifinals as a junior.

As a senior, Scott became more of a leader and continued his growth in a still new-to-him game. St. Ignatius built a 3-4 defense where Scott played a pivotal role as a three-technique lineman.

“There’s been so many firsts with him being a part of the program. He was definitely a big part of us continuing our ascension.”

—  Matt Miller, St. Ignatius coach

Scott was named an All-American, an Illinois High School Football Coaches Association All-Stater and the CCL/ESCC Green Lineman of the Year after finishing the season with 28 tackles, seven for a loss, two sacks and two pass breakups.

“The whole defense really builds around him,” Miller said. “As the season went along this year, you start to notice teams are rolling out away from him or trying to get the ball out of their hands quickly. He dictated a lot of that.”

He also changed games offensively. Miller knew Scott was the fastest player on the team despite his size and surprised many around the state when Miller put in Scott at running back in key games. Scott rushed for a touchdown and a 2-point conversion against Joliet Catholic in Week 9 to win the CCL/ESCC Green and ran again in the postseason.

“I’ve been convincing my coach since my sophomore year,” Scott said. “Just to finally get the opportunity and make something happen on both ends of the field, just being helpful to my team as many ways as possible.”

Scott will continue to be helpful to St. Ignatius after he graduates. Prospective students have become more interested in the Wolfpack thanks to what Scott has accomplished with the program.

While St. Ignatius improved since Miller took over the program in 2017, Scott helped put the Wolfpack on the map.

“This is a whole new element to the school that maybe wasn’t always our focus,” Miller said. “It’s still going to be education but if we can do both, that’s pretty good too. I hope that’s helped shed light on being good at both.”

Scott will travel to San Antonio next week to play in the All-American Bowl before traveling to Honolulu at the end of January to compete in the Polynesian Bowl. After that, he’ll finish out his time at St. Ignatius before going down to Miami.

Scott surprised many when he changed his commitment from Ohio State to Miami in late November but he’s relieved with his decision. He’s going somewhere that feels like home, somewhere he can try to do more of the unexpected.

“I’m very excited to get down there and get to work,” Scott said. “Just like high school, we’re trying to rebuild the program and help get the program back to it, dominance.”