Illinois' Miles Scott Feels Fully Adjusted To Playing In Secondary

Sep 16, 2023; Champaign, Illinois, USA; Penn State Nittany Lions running back Mehdi Flowers (right) runs the ball against Illinois Fighting Illini defensive back Miles Scott (10) during the first half at Memorial Stadium. Mandatory Credit: Ron Johnson-USA TODAY Sports | Ron Johnson-USA TODAY Sports

Illinois safety Miles Scott cringes at the thought of last year's game film.

He feels he was that bad his first year of playing defense after switching from wide receiver last spring.

"I even watched some of my old fall camp film from last year and I just thought I was horrible," Scott said. "Now, I know so much more. I know so much more about the game. I've been able to get my feet wet playing defensive back. I feel so much better going into this year. I'm just glad I got a year under my belt." 

That is good news for the Illini. Even though he was playing a new position last year, Scott wasn't that terrible. He still started all 12 games, finishing with 63 tackles and two interceptions.

Not bad for a newbie.

"No one should ever be comfortable with what they did the previous year," Scott said. "You should always try to keep going, keep going, keep going." 

Scott said he has went "back to the basics" for the start of fall camp. He expects it to help him remain more calm in pressure situations.

"Just be more patient," Scott said. "I feel like a lot of times I was out there panicking and stuff. I just wasn't trusting my abilities, especially after certain things may go wrong. I still got to be able to come back and understand what my technique is." 

Shandel Richardson is the publisher of Illinois Fighting Illini On SI. He can be reached at shandelrich@gmail.com

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