Xavier Scott
Five seasons in the Illinois secondary to date. The first one came in 2024: All-Big Ten. One game to point at: 6 tackles against Ohio State — Week 4, 2026.
28 tackles · 0 sacks
Play style
Moves between deep coverage and the slot.
Activity vs finishing · season enumeration
What the box score actually says
28 tackles. 3 passes defended. 0 interceptions. 0.5 TFL.
Counts only, never a rate — splash-event sample sizes this small (interceptions, pass breakups, TFL) are noise as a rate and signal only as a tally.
Closest statistical matches, adjusted for opponent strength.
Fans first named Xavier Scott vs UAB.
His game this year: coverage — 3 passes defended in the 8 games with play by play.
Swipe the table sideways for more columns.
Last game (Wk 9): 4 tackles.
Game log · Week-by-week
2026 season · 8 games
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| Wk | Opp | TKL | SOLO | TFL | SACK | INT | PD | Note |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Wk 1 | W 42-23vs UAB | 2 | 2 | 0.0 | 0.0 | — | 0 | |
| Wk 2 | L 27-31vs Duke | 4 | 2 | 0.0 | 0.0 | — | 1 | |
| Wk 3 | W 48-10vs Southern Illinois | 3 | 2 | 0.5 | 0.0 | — | 0 | |
| Wk 4 | L 19-42@ No. 7 Ohio State | 6 | 3 | 0.0 | 0.0 | — | 1 | Season-high 6 tackles |
| Wk 5 | L 17-24vs Purdue | 1 | 0 | 0.0 | 0.0 | — | 1 | |
| Wk 6 | W 38-37@ Michigan State | 3 | 1 | 0.0 | 0.0 | — | 0 | |
| Wk 8 | W 21-10vs Oregon | 5 | 4 | 0.0 | 0.0 | — | 0 | |
| Wk 9 | W 20-17@ Maryland | 4 | 1 | 0.0 | 0.0 | — | 0 | |
| Total | 28 | 15 | 0.5 | 0.0 | — | 3 |
Ratings of the games shown run from -10 to +29 points against an average team (SP+ rating of each opponent).
Where his impact shows up on the stat sheet
PD rate
11%3 pass breakupsTackle volume
28tackles this seasonTFL rate
2%0 TFL28 tackles · 0.5 for loss · 3 pass breakups.
5 seasons under Bret Bielema — 37-22 over that span.
Splits · Per-game
2026 season · 8 games
Home vs Road
| TKL/g | TFL/g | SACK/g | PD/g | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Home5g | 3.0 | 0.1 | 0.0 | 0.4 |
| Road3g | 4.3 | 0.0 | 0.0 | 0.3 |
First half vs Second half
| TKL/g | TFL/g | SACK/g | PD/g | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Weeks 1-76g | 3.2 | 0.1 | 0.0 | 0.5 |
| Weeks 8+2g | 4.5 | 0.0 | 0.0 | 0.0 |
Supporting cast · Scheme
Staff and system around the player
Head Coach
Bret Bielema
Pass share
49.5%
243 pass / 248 run
Plays / game
61.4
8 games
Team sack rate
3.7%
271 dropbacks · PBP
Scheme: Balanced, slow tempo.
Player standing · 2026
About as many tackles a game as a typical FBS defensive back who plays every week.
Recognition
Production · CFB Zeitgeist Score
Three-star recruit. Now #367 at the position.
2026 is in progress.
A stat line in 38 games over five seasons.
The role got bigger.
Trophy case · Confirmed honors
What the selectors said
ALL-BIG TEN · 1ST TEAM
All-Big Ten 1st team (2024)
Weekly recognition
1 weekly honor (2024)
Big Ten Defensive Player of the Week
Coaching lineage · 2022–2026
1 coachPlayed every college season under Bret Bielema.
