High school football: St. Ignatius lineman Justin Scott picks Ohio State

The first time St. Ignatius football coach Matt Miller heard about Justin Scott was from a staffer in the school’s admissions office.

The first time Miller saw Scott was on the first day of practice in the spring 2021 pandemic season when Scott was a freshman.

“All I knew at that point was he’s a big kid.” Miller said.

What Miller and the rest of the football world know now is that Scott — a rare blend of size, skill and athleticism — is the state’s best player and an Ohio State recruit.

Scott, a 6-4, 310-pound defensive lineman, is Illinois’ only five-star senior prospect. He picked the Buckeyes over his other four finalists: Georgia, Miami, Notre Dame and Michigan.

He told On3’s Chad Simmons: “I was ready to commit to Michigan. And then I visited Ohio State. And the one thing that pushed them over the top was getting coached by [defensive line] coach Larry Johnson.”

Scott didn’t play football before high school, concentrating on a promising basketball career that continues today. His mother was concerned that Miller might have him on the varsity as a freshman, but the Wolfpack coach assured her that wasn’t in the cards.

Still, Scott’s talent was evident from the get-go. Playing fullback on the St. Ignatius freshman team, he broke off a 50-yard touchdown run.

“He definitely works hard and he keeps getting better,” Miller said. “He’s been able to rely on his natural athleticism. I’ve never seen anybody at that size move like this.”

The offers started pouring in during the fall 2021 season, including one from Illinois, even though he only played one varsity game that season.

That means last fall was Scott’s first real varsity season. He started on both lines and finished with 42 tackles, 13 tackles for loss, 4.5 sacks, a forced fumble and a fumble recovery. At left guard, he helped the Wolfpack average 326.8 rushing yards and 33.2 points a game,

The offers and national attention kept coming. Scott is the No. 3 defensive lineman in the class of 2024 and the No. 14 player overall in the 247Sports composite rankings.

Miller sees Scott as a 3-technique in college. So did most schools with the exception of Alabama, which pursued him as an offensive lineman.

The pursuit, from all recruiters, has been relentless. 

“Sept. 1 his junior year, he woke up to 102 text messages,” Miller said.

For all his fame, Scott remains down to earth. He didn’t join Twitter till after his freshman season and doesn’t post often.

“I think he’s looking forward to playing this year and getting recruiting done,” Miller said. “He’s not big-timing anybody around here. He’s really handled it well.”

Marquise Lightfoot to Miami

A day after Scott committed to Ohio State, the state’s No. 3 senior — Kenwood’s Marquise Lightfoot — announced he’s heading to Miami.

Lightfoot, a 6-5, 220-pound edge rusher, had 39 offers and had narrowed his list to the Hurricanes, Alabama, Georgia, Ohio State and Illinois.

He’s ranked sixth at his position and 67th overall nationally by 247Sports.