Tag: Justin Scott

Florida getting in the mix for this 5-star DL

The Florida Gators are taking an interest in one of the nation’s top defensive linemen, Justin Scott, and a visit could be coming in the fall.

St. Ignatius (Chicago, Illinois) defensive lineman [autotag]Justin Scott[/autotag] has drawn interest from plenty of Power Five programs as a borderline top-10 recruit in the 2024 cycle, but the Florida Gators have just recently begun to stand out among the rest of the pack, according to On3’s CaneSport.

It’s the time of year when coaches are stopping by high schools to see recruits in action during spring practices. Florida has been by St. Ignatius twice to see Scott, and he’s noticed the love from the Gators.

“I’ll probably try to go down there (Florida) during the season,” Scott said. “But them just showing up makes me see I’m a priority to them too, even though I haven’t talked to the coaches that much, but just seeing that they want me there.”

Coaches should be in contact a bit more frequently now that the connection is growing, and Scott says an official visit could be in store. Alabama and Florida are the two programs he’s looking at the most seriously aside from Miami, which has been the team to beat since April.

Scott is a five-star recruit by On3 and Rivals.com’s measures. 247Sports has him ranked 35th overall in the class of 2024, but he’s still a four-star recruit there.

The On3 industry ranking uses a weighted average of all four major services, and Scott is ranked No. 11 overall on that list. He’s also No. 3 among defensive linemen in the class and the top-ranked player out of Illinois.

[lawrence-auto-related count=5 category=1739]

[mm-video type=video id=01gz7ptz3b1vkd9j15cm playlist_id=01eqbz250mdknqvm5z player_id=01f5k5y2jb3twsvdg4 image=https://images2.minutemediacdn.com/image/upload/video/thumbnail/mmplus/01gz7ptz3b1vkd9j15cm/01gz7ptz3b1vkd9j15cm-e52c0f69acae57136c78dbac86c6aa4e.jpg]

Follow us @GatorsWire on Twitter and like our page on Facebook to follow ongoing coverage of Florida Gators news, notes and opinions.

Traditional powers as well as Colorado and Miami make top-8 for elite ’24 defensive tackle

A long way to go but this would be HUGE in multiple ways for Notre Dame

One of the top prospects in the 2024 college football recruiting cycle is defensive tackle Justin Scott of Chicago.  The St. Ignatius junior is rated by the 247Sports composite as a five-star prospect, the fourth best defensive lineman, and top player to call Illinois home in this cycle.

As you can expect, the biggest names in college football have been in pursuit of Scott’s talents.  The 6-5, 310-pound, mountain of a young man announced his top eight teams on Sunday and as you’d expect, many of the biggest names in college football made the cut.

Traditional powers Notre Dame, USC, Oregon, Ohio State, Alabama, and Michigan were all named as making the top eight.  Joining them were Colorado and Miami.

Being a lifelong Chicagoan I can honestly say that Scott, based on this clearly non-photoshopped photo above, is believed to be the first person from Chicago to actually willingly go to the bean.

[mm-video type=playlist id=01eqbz1mmy7gev0xbr player_id=01eqbvp13nn1gy6hd4 image=]

[listicle id=57825]

5-star DL Justin Scott sets visit with Georgia football

Five-star defensive lineman Justin Scott plans to go on an official visit to UGA and Ohio State this summer

Five-star defensive line recruit Justin Scott plans to take an official visit to the University of Georgia on June 2-4. Scott also plans to have an official visit with Ohio State on June 23-25.

Scott plays high school football for St. Ignatius High School in Chicago, Illinois. The five-star defensive lineman is the No. 14 player in the class of 2024. Scott is the top-ranked recruit in Illinois and the fourth-ranked defensive line recruit, per 247Sports.

The 6-foot-4, 310-pound defensive lineman also plays basketball. Scott is favored to commit to the Notre Dame Fighting Irish. Will the talented defensive lineman stay closer to home or come to the SEC?

The five-star defensive lineman has recently visited USC and Michigan. The St. Ignatius standout has over two dozen scholarship offers and is one of the best recruits in his class.

Kirby Smart and Georgia football currently have the best recruiting class in the country. Georgia has 10 commitments in the class of 2024. However, Georgia is looking to secure its first commitment from a defensive lineman in the current junior class.

Rivals reported the news of Scott’s upcoming summer visits.

[lawrence-auto-related count=5]

[mm-video type=playlist id=01eqbz2y40j067srkf player_id=01eqbvp13nn1gy6hd4 image=]

5-star Notre Dame prospect will visit South Bend this weekend

The Irish are firmly in the mix for the 5-star

When Illinois 5-star defensive tackle [autotag]Justin Scott[/autotag] announced that he would make his college decision at the end of January, many believed that [autotag]Notre Dame[/autotag] would be the pick.

Scott ended up put off his announcement, as he wanted to rethink his choice. The Irish took that in stride and continued to recruit the impressive player. It has paid off, as today Scott went to twitter and let everyone know that he will be back in South Bend this coming Saturday for a visit.

With spring practice starting on Wednesday, it makes plenty of sense for Scott to want to visit with second-year head coach [autotag]Marcus Freeman[/autotag] and his staff as they are back with the team.

Scott stands 6-foot, 4-inches and weighs 310 pounds is ranked as the 14th overall player and 4th best defensive lineman in the 2024 recruiting cycle according to the 247Sports composite.

[lawrence-auto-related count=5]

[mm-video type=video id=01gdhggxtjv52c59fwew playlist_id=none player_id=01eqbvp13nn1gy6hd4 image=https://images2.minutemediacdn.com/image/upload/video/thumbnail/mmplus/01gdhggxtjv52c59fwew/01gdhggxtjv52c59fwew-2319041cebc4e858d0859e34b75ae47d.jpg]

Contact/Follow us @IrishWireND on Twitter, and like our page on Facebook to follow ongoing coverage of Notre Dame news, notes, and opinions.

Follow Mike on Twitter: @MikeFChen

Report: Notre Dame may have ground to make up with 5-star defensive lineman

Not the best news here

Even though I am no longer a high school football scout in Illinois, I still have some good connections, and something I heard over the weekend regarding [autotag]Notre Dame[/autotag] needed to be shared.

My source spoke about two recruits to me, Kenwood defensive end [autotag]Marquise Lightfoot[/autotag] and St. Ignatius defensive tackle [autotag]Justin Scott[/autotag]. I was told Scott was definitely leaning toward committing to the Irish had he kept his original commitment date in January, but as we all know, Scott pushed back his commitment.

Another tidbit my source told me was there is potential for Scott to be a package deal with Lightfoot. If you look at who the Kenwood star is highly considering, it is Ohio State, Georgia and USC with Alabama also in consideration.

That doesn’t mean that Scott has ruled out the Irish but it is making the job that much more difficult. It looks like the defensive tackle will also visit Georgia in April, and he retweeted this report today.

Head coach [autotag]Marcus Freeman[/autotag] must now juggle multiple open positions on his coaching staff while trying to secure another top class in the 2024 cycle.

[lawrence-auto-related count=1]

[mm-video type=playlist id=01eqbz1mmy7gev0xbr player_id=01eqbvp13nn1gy6hd4 image=]

Contact/Follow us @IrishWireND on Twitter, and like our page on Facebook to follow ongoing coverage of Notre Dame news, notes, and opinions.

Follow Mike on Twitter: @MikeFChen

Source: Ohio State has the potential to land a pair of top Illinois defensive lineman

A 5-star and an elite prospect could end up in Columbus

As a former scout in the state of Illinois, I have kept in contact with a few coaches and this weekend I ran into one with big time connections to a pair of [autotag]Ohio State[/autotag] targets.

What he told me was very interesting and could very well mean that both could ultimately land in Columbus. Although our conversation was brief, there was plenty to takeaway from what he told me.

Find out below some of the latest information on two Illinois 2024 defensive lineman’s recruitment and where each of them could be leaning to play at the next level.

5-star Notre Dame target will not announce his commitment at end of January

An interesting development here

When Illinois five-star defensive tackle [autotag]Justin Scott[/autotag] announced he planned to commit on the 31st of January, it looked like he was a lock to make his pledge to [autotag]Notre Dame[/autotag].

Just by reading into what Scott was doing — visiting South Bend days before his announcement — observers believed it was almost a forgone conclusion he would commit to Notre Dame and [autotag]Marcus Freeman[/autotag].

The Irish, along with Scott’s other finalists, will have to wait a bit longer to find out where the talented defensive lineman plans to play his college football. On Tuesday, Scott went to Twitter and announced he will not announce his pledge in a week and is postponing his “commitment until further notice.”

At this point it’s hard to read what Scott might do, but multiple insiders believed until today that he was headed to South Bend. It’s another roller-coaster recruitment that should seem normal as this point if you follow closely.

[mm-video type=playlist id=01eqbz1mmy7gev0xbr player_id=01eqbvp13nn1gy6hd4 image=]

[listicle id=57825]

Contact/Follow us @IrishWireND on Twitter, and like our page on Facebook to follow ongoing coverage of Notre Dame news, notes, and opinions.

Follow Mike on Twitter: @MikeFChen

Tommy Rees visits former Notre Dame teammate’s high school program

The pair of Irish friends and teammates reunite

Recruiting is all about connections and for former [autotag]Notre Dame[/autotag] teammates [autotag]Tommy Rees[/autotag] and [autotag]Tyler Plantz[/autotag], the relationship is strong. Both played for the Irish in the early 2010s and both quickly moved into coaching after their playing career with the Irish.

We know what Rees has been up to, but when Plantz returned to his high school alma mater, [autotag]Providence Catholic[/autotag] in Illinois, it might have slipped through the cracks during the last offseason. The two former teammates and friends reunited today in New Lenox as Rees visited Plantz at his new coaching home.

The Irish are having significant success recruiting their neighboring state. Already in the 2024 class they have the top offensive player committed, wide receiver [autotag]Cam Williams[/autotag], and are trending for the top defensive player, tackle [autotag]Justin Scott[/autotag].

The big hat looks pretty good on Rees, doesn’t it?

[listicle id=68300]

[lawrence-related id=68266]

[mm-video type=playlist id=01eqbz1mmy7gev0xbr player_id=01eqbvp13nn1gy6hd4 image=]

Contact/Follow us @IrishWireND on Twitter, and like our page on Facebook to follow ongoing coverage of Notre Dame news, notes, and opinions.

Follow Mike on Twitter: @MikeFChen

Notre Dame football: 5-star Justin Scott recruiting update

This seems to be headed in a good direction…

The biggest remaining target in Notre Dame’s 2024 recruiting cycle was supposed to make a visit to campus this past Sunday but things changed at the last minute.  With just eight days left before defensive tackle [autotag]Justin Scott[/autotag] of St. Ingatius (Chicago) is supposed to announce his college commitment, is that a sign things are headed south for the Irish?

It’s easy to see Scott getting Georgia and Florida scholarship offers in recent weeks, him not ending up in South Bend over the weekend, and think it’s all connected.  This is one of those cases where the optics don’t appear great but the experts in the know still see good things for the Irish.
Scott is said to be making his visit to South Bend now on January 29, two days before his birthday which is when he’s set to announce his college commitment.  Is the trip going to be more of a celebration than an actual visit?  Monday morning Steve Wiltfong of 247Sports made a crystal ball prediction for Scott to commit to Notre Dame (premium).  Wiltfong joined Tom Loy of Irish Illustrated with that prediction.  Combined, Wiltfong and Loy are 57 of 57 in their commitment predictions for 2024 to date.
First off – I’m stoked about Scott committing.  Don’t get it wrong or twisted.  However, the scar tissue for me with [autotag]Keon Keeley[/autotag] and [autotag]Peyton Bowen[/autotag] in this most recent cycle is real and I’ll feel a whole lot better about everything once he’s actually signed his letter of intent.
After all, Scott would be the highest rated defensive line recruit for Notre Dame in over a decade (247Sports).
[lawrence-related id=67691,68266,67916]
[listicle id=67841]

Report: Top Notre Dame target will visit just a few days ahead of commitment date

Will the Irish lock up a verbal after the visit?

The [autotag]Notre Dame[/autotag] football staff has to be ecstatic about the recent events surrounding Illinois 5-star defensive tackle [autotag]Justin Scott[/autotag].

The big man was set to visit South Bend this weekend but a report from [autotag]247Sports Tom Loy[/autotag] has Scott pushing back his visit to the final weekend of January, just days ahead of Scott’s birthday and commitment day.

This is a very good sign for [autotag]Marcus Freeman[/autotag] and the Irish, especially considering that multiple other commits might be on campus that weekend with him. Quarterback commit [autotag]CJ Carr[/autotag] is leading the charge and looks to be on campus while Scott is there.

At the current moment, all signs look very positive for Scott to join the 2024 Notre Dame football recruiting class.

[listicle id=57825]

[mm-video type=playlist id=01eqbz1mmy7gev0xbr player_id=01eqbvp13nn1gy6hd4 image=]

Contact/Follow us @IrishWireND on Twitter, and like our page on Facebook to follow ongoing coverage of Notre Dame news, notes, and opinions.

Follow Mike on Twitter: @MikeFChen