Overcoming personal lows and injuries, Keionte Scott transforms adversity into a breakout season, dominating defenses and leading the Miami Hurricanes' playoff charge.
It's officially gameday, as the Miami Hurricanes make final preparations to face another SEC program, the Ole Miss Rebels, in the Vrbo Fiesta Bowl semifinals. They have a great group of veterans who have stepped up throughout the year, such as Akheem Mesidor, Rueben Bain Jr., Carson Beck, but one who's taken a massive leap is Keionte Scott.
The redshirt senior was outstanding during the regular season, recording 44 total tackles, 30 solos and 14 assists, 10 tackles for loss, one interception that resulted in a 38-yard touchdown against the Syracuse Orange, five passes defended, two sacks, and a forced fumble in 10 games. At one point, he was considered the best cornerback in the nation, but that was before missing the last couple of games due to a lower extremity injury. It was an unfortunate loss for the Hurricanes' secondary, but it presented an opportunity for others to step up, such as Zechariah Poyser, Damari Brown, and Bryce Fitzgerald.
After concluding the regular season on a dominant note, the team made the College Football Playoffs, despite all the adversity and odds against them.
As the Hurricanes faced the Texas A&M Aggies in the first round, Scott was able to return to the field, which was a massive boost. He proved not to miss a step, finishing the game with 10 total tackles, five solos and five assists, three tackles for loss, two sacks, and a forced fumble. The defense as a whole carried the program towards victory, with a final score of 10-3.
The Hurricanes as a whole, from the coaching staff to the players, understood the significance of Scott's impact on the field. He would follow up with another outstanding performance in the Cotton Bowl quarterfinals against the reigning champion Ohio State Buckeyes, finishing with four total tackles, two solos and two assists, and an interception that resulted in a 72-yard touchdown, which made him the Defensive Player of the Game.
However, the path to stardom didn't come without trials and tribulations.
"Last year being at my lowest point playing the sport," Scott said. "I felt like I took the time to focus and look at everything that didn't go as good as I wanted it to go. I made a decision in my mind that I wasn't going to allow that happen again. My biggest thing was making sure I could find some comfortability. A place that would allow me to have fun and be able to play football. [Mario Cristobal] called when I was in the portal and having the familiarity with him, it felt like that would allow me to be comfortable."
Scott earned second-team All-ACC and All-American honors. The 24-year-old was a massive contributor to the Hurricanes' turnaround, while achieving new heights as a player. There's also personal growth from him after facing an uncertain future.
"I was a late bloomer going out of high school," Scott added. "Things were just different for me as far as recruiting. I was a very underrecruited guy. I didn't think I was going to be able to go to college; I was just playing football because I loved it. I felt like that caused me to slip in the classroom, wanting to be the cool guy. I was able to geta growth spurt and things started turning around. My senior year was heartbreaking because you start balling and coaches are pulling you out of class every other day. There were times when I would have to go into the office and tell them that my grades were not where they needed to be. It was a humbling experience for me, realizing I could've done something great."
After a couple of years of junior college, the veteran cornerback joined the Auburn Tigers, then transferred to the Hurricanes to finish his collegiate career. It's a great testimony to what could happen when you work hard and handle business right.
"If I'm going to gamble on anybody," Scott said. "I'm going to gamble on myself. I decided to bet on myself, come back an extra year, and time was of the essence. You only get to play college football one time, getting a different amount of years. It was the best decision for myself to prove to everybody that I am who I think I am."
The next stage of the College Football Playoffs is set for tonight, at Glendale, Arizona, 7:30 p.m. Eastern Time on ESPN.
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