CHAMPAIGN — Xavier Scott seemed to embrace the space, or at least found comfort in where he was for the first two years of his college career. That is, until everything changed.
Scott knows he was perceived as an under-the-radar player. He was ranked outside of the top-1000 as a high school prospect in the Class of 2022 before arriving at Illinois and getting meaningful snaps late in his freshman season. The potential and promise were always there, but Scott was largely stuck behind an NFL-bound secondary as a freshman. He broke out as a sophomore in 2023, earning All-Big Ten honorable mention, but his name wasn’t quite as known then as it is now.
All of that changed in the second game of last season in a home win over Kansas. Scott had two interceptions, including a game-shifting pick-six late in the first half, to knock off the Jayhawks and put gas on the flames of a 10-win season. A “statement game,” as Scott now calls it.
Under the radar? That’s long gone. Scott put together a First Team All-Big Ten season last year, was a semifinalist for the Thorpe Award, was tied for second in the Big Ten and 15th nationally with four interceptions during the regular season and was the No. 3-rated cornerback in the Big Ten, according to Pro Football Focus.
“I just continued to show the type of guy I am,” Scott told Illini Inquirer on Wednesday. “I always continue to keep my head down and have always been an under-the-radar type of guy. I’m really not, but that’s how I’ve been perceived. I just keep working, and I know my hard work is going to pay off at the end of the day. I’m not in no rush. I don’t really care about those types of things. The people that know, they know. They know who I am and what I can do. It’s going to show.”
All of that brought Scott to this offseason and the intersection of his NFL dreams and another season in school. He could have gone to the NFL and would have likely been drafted in the middle rounds of the this month’s NFL Draft. His tape and stats are good enough to have gotten him there, and the Illini program has helped itself in terms of how the league looks at their defensive backs.
But Scott isn’t entirely healthy right now. An ankle injury — which he said he dealt with for most of last season and dates back to high school — would have limited him in the pre-draft process, just as it is during spring practices. That had to be factored into the equation.
There was also the matter of boosting his draft stock even higher for the 2026 NFL Draft, building on a 10-win season and cashing in what are likely some pretty significant NIL checks for one more season in town. His younger brother, Xanai Scott, joining the program this year was even more of a reason to return to college.
And just like that, the NFL was on hold. The under-the-radar idea is out the door. Xavier Scott has returned and, in so many ways, has arrived.
“I wanted to go to the NFL, of course. Everybody wants the NFL,” Scott said. “I felt like it was the best decision for me to come back and give one more year coming off a great season with the team we had last year. We have a lot of returners coming back this year coming up. I just wanted to get one more chance to ball with my boys on the field.”
Scott is back on a defense that returns nine of 11 starters from last season’s team and all of the starters in the secondary. He’ll slot back into the STAR, or nickel, role for Illinois with the ability to rotate outside at boundary corner in certain packages.
Getting him back was, in no fewer words, massive for the Illinois program as a dark-horse College Football Playoff contender.
“In particular, Gabe and Xavier had high-ranking NFL grades,” said head coach Bret Bielema. “For them to be able to forego the draft and come back, we’re trying to get them to put a high-ranking draft (pick) on ’em.”
As a junior last season, Scott had 44 tackles, six pass breakups, four interceptions, one defensive touchdown, two tackles for loss, one sack and one forced fumble. According to PFF, Scott allowed 40 receptions on 74 targets (54.1%) for 434 yards and four touchdowns. He was the most targeted player in the Big Ten by six targets, according to PFF.
Not bad for a kid with just two Power Four offers out of high school: Illinois and Pittsburgh.
“I’m just a guy who kind of works,” Scott said. “I knew my time was going to come. When I had been in high school and under the radar, dealing with that COVID type of stuff, I kind of knew what it was. I didn’t get this offer until two weeks before signing day. When this offer came, I just kind of wanted to make the best of my opportunities. Coming here, I didn’t know we were going to have a Devon Witherspoon and a defense like that. I was like, ‘I’m going to Illinois,’ but I was just so happy because I didn’t have any other Division I offers. I was kind of happy for the moment. Then I got here and was able to see what they had going. I just fell in line., and I’ve kept working ever since.”
Scott said he’s able to run again during spring practices as he recovers from his ankle injury, and his status to begin the season doesn’t seem to be in question. But Scott’s been here before. He missed last spring as he recovered from an ACL injury and turned in a First Team All-Big Ten season. This year, he’s helping the younger defensive backs get their footing, including Xanai, who enrolled early.
Rather than participating in drills, Scott is immersed in studying the game even further.
“Just trying to be a student of the game in the classroom,” Scott said. “I can’t be out there physically, so I try to be that student of the game in my books and try to find ways to get myself better, so when I get back, I can work on those things and improve my game.”
Scott is also relishing the time with his younger brother. The two haven’t shared a football field in more than three years, and Xavier hasn’t seen Xanai play in some time given the overlap between their seasons. The possibility to share the field — Xavier is helping Xanai quickly grasp the playbook and the nuances of college football to try to increase that likelihood — is special. Maybe it wasn’t the biggest factor in Scott putting the NFL on hold, but the idea to share the field with his brother wasn’t nothing either.
“Of course I wanted to play with my brother,” Xavier said. “We kind of talked about it. I told him I was coming back, and we had an opportunity to be out there together. I’m going to do everything in my power to get him out there and he’s going to be ready.
“At first, I never expected me and my brother to come to the same school. As it was in the moment, I was like, ‘Oh, this can possibly happen.’ Now that it’s here, I’m going to do everything in my power to not only give him what I know and show him the ropes of the ins and outs of being a college ball player, but just help him be a better player and help him understand what’s going on.”
Xavier Scott enters this season likely with lofty goals. Not that he, or most players, want to dive into those goals in early April. But there was a nugget left out there on Wednesday. Scott was a semifinalist for the Thorpe Award last season.
That’s something worth building on. Eventually. First, he’d like to get back in pads and on the field.
“I was on the list. I actually want to win it now,” Scott said. “I’ve got some goals I want to accomplish, but I want to take it kind of one day at a time. I’m not even on the field yet. I want to get back healthy first. As we get into the season and progress, those things will come as we have success on the field. I’m not looking too much forward into those things. I want to kind of take it one day at a time.”
