Scout's Take: Ohio State getting an elite athlete in 5-star DL

Chicago (Ill.) St. Ignatius five-star defensive lineman Justin Scott pulled off a recruiting stunner on Sunday night when he committed to Ohio State over Michigan, Miami, and Georgia.

The 6-foot-4, 315-pounder had publicly named Miami as his top school coming off an unofficial visit to Coral Gables this spring, but behind the scenes it was a battle between the bitter Big Ten rivals. As he told On3 Director of Recruiting Chad Simmons, Scott nearly committed to Michigan on his official visit earlier this month, but it was the Buckeyes he announced for Sunday.

Scott is the No. 9 overall prospect in the 2024 cycle, according to the On3 Industry Ranking, a weighted average that utilizes all four major recruiting media companies. And he is currently ranked as five-star prospect by three of the four.

On3, however, was the first service to identify him as one of the country’s elite prospects all the way back in March 2022. At that point, Scott had only played one season of varsity football, but his natural talent was evident, according to the On3 Director of Scouting and Rankings Charles Power.

“Though new to football, Scott’s easily identifiable natural talent currently separates him among the defensive line group,” Power wrote at the time. “His explosive and fluid movement skills are readily apparent. Scott runs like a much smaller player and makes high-level athletic plays in pursuit. There’s no question he’ll need to continue developing like most other top prospects, but we view Scott’s ceiling high enough to merit the early five-star rating.”

Justin Scott has developed into an elite two-way athlete

Over the past 15 months, Scott has continued to show why he earned such lofty praise by dominating as both an offensive and defensive lineman at the prep level.

“I think what also makes him pretty unique is this is a guy who I think if he wanted to, he could maybe be one of the top offensive linemen in this cycle,” Power said. “He is a phenomenal two-way lineman, doesn’t come off the field much for his high school at all.”

Scott showcases the ability to win at the point of attack, but what separates him from other interior linemen is his ability to chase down plays at 6-foot-4 and 300-plus pounds.

“He really moves exceptionally well at that size. Especially you turn on the film, he is light-footed. This is a guy who at that size can run sideline to sideline, make some really impressive plays in pursuit.”

Scott is a ‘huge get’ for Ohio State

In recent years, the Buckeyes have had as much success as any program at producing skill position players. But lacking has been the interior beef and talent necessary to win not only in the Big Ten, but against SEC powerhouses like Alabama and Georgia.

Scott is exactly the type of player, especially one who hails from the Midwest, that Ohio State needs to sign.

“When you talk about competing against your Georgias and your Alabamas, adding players like Justin Scott on the line of scrimmage really goes a long way in bolstering your roster,” Power added. “Especially come College Football Playoff time and then also to competing with Michigan and defending their run heavy offense as well.

… I’m looking forward to seeing him develop under Larry Johnson and that staff because they’ve done a great job of churning out defensive linemen over the years. I think once he gets in their strength program, which has done really well and had an outstanding reputation, he’s going to have a really high upside potential. It’s a huge get for Ohio State.”