Keionte Scott Reflects on Journey from JUCO to Miami to NFL Prospect
In this story:
INDIANAPOLIS — Keionte Scott had a question for coach Zac Etheridge. Three years later, Etheridge's answer has led to Scott earning second-team All-ACC honors with Miami to become a potential first-round selection in the 2026 NFL draft.
"I was like, 'Man, I want to play football, where can I get on the field at?'' Scott recalled asking Etheridge in his first year at Auburn. "And he was like, 'Man, the star position is somewhere I could see you fit in. And so, I jumped right in and I fell in love with it."
Starting with the STAR position, Scott became a versatile defender, first for Auburn for three years, then for 2025 with Miami, becoming a crucial piece of the elite Hurricane defense.
"When you look at the (STAR) position, it's very, a unique position," Scott said. "At times. You got to be a defensive end, got to be a linebacker, got to be a safety, got to be a corner. So I think it's just the ability to be a Swiss-Army knife, and be able to be do multiple and and also thrive at it."
He grabbed the third most sacks on the team (five) and third most interceptions (two) on the team last year.
Before playing in the SEC and ACC, Scott started his career at the JUCO level at Snow College for two seasons.
Once he started receiving offers and attention, including from Mario Cristobal when he was at Oregon, Scott found himself being targeted by players looking to make a play on the highly-touted recruit.
"When you start to pick up offers, it turns you into a bigger target at times," Scott said. "You got Offensive tackles running way out of their formation and where they're not supposed to be to come get film on you. ... So it's definitely something that required me to be on my tips and my had to be on all my feet and on all my Ps and Qs at all times."
Because of Scott's time at the JUCO level, he was one of the many benefactors of the ruling that gave former JUCO players an additional year of eligibility. That's given him plenty of experience, but also made him older than the traditional draft prospect. He'll turn 25 before the NFL season begins and 29 before a second contract would begin to kick in.
But he doesn't believe NFL teams should view that as a concern, instead believing they should recognize the instant impact players with his level of experience can make.
"Some of these coaches don't have time to waste," Scott said. "I feel like you evaluate players as they can play the game of football, because, when you play this game, it doesn't matter how old you are. Got to give a shout out to my guy, Malachi Toney, you see a 17-year-old come in and change a whole program. So I don't think age is something that teams should be worried about. I know it's obviously contract-wise, but, win-now situation, you get the best guy."
Scott's teammate, Jakobe Thomas, saw first-hand how that experience made Scott a leader and a playmaker for the Miami defense.
"There was a time in the season where he was down, wasn't playing, and he didn't miss a beat, he was helping everybody else get prepared." Thomas said of Scott. "There's times where you don't know what he's going to do, but it's going to be something great."
Scott will have the chance to show off his versatile skillset to NFL teams Friday during drills at the NFL Scouting Combine.
