Elite Defender Justin Scott Focused On Proving His Five-Star Status Is Deserved

Notre Dame 2024 defensive line target Justin Scott is looking to prove he's every bit worthy of his five-star status

Chicago (Ill.) St. Ignatius defensive tackle Justin Scott is a 6-5, 310-pound behemoth, and he's one of the nation's best players in the 2024 class. The five-star recruit and No. 3 overall player according to On3 steps into a new era of his prep career now that he's a junior and leader for a Wolfpack squad looking to improve upon a 9-2 record from last fall.

Leadership isn’t the only pressure that the two-way lineman is facing as he looks forward to the kickoff to the season Tonight. St. Ignatius takes on a tough-minded St. Patrick team, and Scott is looking to become the first Division I signee from St. Ignatius in almost forty years. Scott will ultimately end that drought.

"Things have happened fast," Scott told Irish Breakdown. "The five-star thing was unexpected and recruiting took off for me. I wanted to take more visits, but I couldn’t make things work.”

Scott has previously visited Notre Dame on two occasions. The first was back in October 2021, and that visit put Notre Dame at the top of his list of schools that he saw himself playing for. The Fighting Irish program went through the obvious transition of a new head coach and coaching staff shortly after, and Scott was kind of lost in transition. He thought an offer would be coming before the end of 2021, and he ended up waiting for the offer that he wanted. 

For Scott, the wait was well worth it as his excitement about the program, education and similarities to the culture at St. Ignatius, have now expanded to an excitement about the new coaching staff.

"Coach (Tommy) Rees stayed in contact with me until Coach (Al) Washington got in place," Scott explained. "My relationship with the coaching staff is real good and they’re doing a great job with the number one class. Guys see that.”

The five-star elevation and national ranking are unbelievable blessings for this dominant prep star, but he still comes into the season with a huge chip on his shoulder. 

As the number one player in Illinois, Scott feels like he should dominate every opponent and lead the Wolfpack to a CCL title and IHSA state championship. In addition, he feels the weight of proving that he’s not an overhyped player with little evidence to support his five-star status. Scott has been transparent about his play during his sophomore season and characterized himself as a football player that was playing the game via raw ability. He dedicated himself to a rigorous off-season training program centered around building strength, quickness and speed.

"The game has become easier," Scott detailed. "I’m ready to prove that all of my hard work was worth it, and that I deserve everything that I’ve got.”

That can't be good news for Scott's opponents in 2022.

Notre Dame 2024 wide receiver commit Cam Williams has taken the reins as the lead recruiter for Scott, and their relationship goes back to mutual friends growing up in the Chicago area. Scott laughs at his friend when asked about how Williams has stayed on him about joining the Notre Dame 2024 class. 

Both players are excited to return to Notre Dame during the season, and Scott fully expects Williams and others that have joined him in recruiting efforts to be present when he arrives in South Bend.

“Cam, CJ (Carr) and Brandon (Davis-Swain) talk to me," Scott said. “Cam is random man. He says the funniest stuff and finds a way to make it ND.”

Expect that to continue from Williams, other Irish commits and the Notre Dame coaches. There is no doubt Scott is a major, major player of importance for the program in the 2024 class. Dare I say, he's a must-get.

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