Xavier Scott: Illinois Football Postgame (9/7/24)

having a guy like him you know having played with you and now being the NFL oh yeah going to be him regardless he's been there since they W I appreciate you know his game tomorrow and I'll be watching him cheer him on so I just appreciate just you know watching us and just Shou me out I'm sure been asked but I mean two interceptions that a pick six what were you seeing on those plays and just you know causing Mayhem something we've heard all about all Camp long yeah just um our coaches putting us in the right position to make plays you know everybody doing their job uh you know just all 11 guys is doing they supposed to do and you know that's the end result everybody do what they're supposed to do you know we come out with victories interceptions takeways and even when this offense was struggling the defense and really stepping up and and kind of holding on until those last couple drives I mean what does it say about this defense and just the progress that's been made yeah uh we knew it was a four quarter game we didn't try to take nothing for granted um yeah offense definitely start off kind of slow but we knew if we know stay in it that our offensive pick up and you know they came in uh very clutch at the end of the game you know holding the ball all the way down to the last minute possible you know David kicking that field goal then you know we finish it all up so you know it was a collective game no hard game so we just ready for the next opportunity the back end of the defense is obviously improved and I I know the answer to your question but to the question that you're going to give did you see that coming what did you see in the spring and fall camper you knew that was it was going to be better yeah we just uh coaches just embracing takeaways um by any means necessary from the front to the back end let's take the ball away you know we had opportunities last year even though you know we didn't take advantage but we had opportunities so we just want to take more Advantage than this year you know we just capitalize on all opportunities we had of these first two games and you know we continue to do it you know from the front to the back takeing you let you uh enjoy playing the boundary playing playing the nickel position yeah yeah um I do anything to help my team win you know sometimes it's not where I want to be sometime but uh you know I do anything to help our team win um yeah I you know I rotate from outside to inside so you know by I do anything to help us and you know we come out Victorious they were to that point about turnovers just I know that Aaron Henry and all the defensive players were turning they talked about turnovers being a major emphasis throughout all just how does it not people think turn randomly happen how how do you feel like it's happened so much on uh definitely we do it in practice um you know you can't you're not going to do nothing different if you don't do it in practice I mean if you don't catch them in practice you're not going to just mically catch them with the 60,000 people cheer you on so you know we just enforce that our coaches you know us just you know embracing cat the ball taking the ball away just some we we would be in practice and we drop some easy stuff and you know coaches would get on us and you know we' be mad and you know irritated at the time but you know it pays out at the end of is it that simple to just you know make the play make the catch because did you feel like last year you were in a position to do that and didn't make the play or do you feel like this year you're in better position to make the play yeah uh it was a little bit of both um you know coaches definitely put us in a position to make them at both of both years but um just you know like you said just emphasizing taking that ball away you know just looking it in don't don't look to the end zone before you catch the ball so definitely iau that pick six I was making sure I looked it in before I actually took off but yeah we just embrace it from U our coaches and from all our players so you s you've been asked this but coach be to mention like this was maybe like a moment for the program just big picture what you guys want to do did you feel that at all as you were walking off the field and people were kind of everywhere yeah uh they definitely rushed us a little bit um I seen a couple people come out and then they got real hectic real quick so you know they Trum on me a little bit but I I enjoy our line our fans coming out there and you know supporting us and you know coming out in that hallway you know at the game and there people standing around all the way to the top um I just want to say I appreciate everybody coming out support us and you know we continue to put you know great great product out there in the field what can this wi home R te the whole deal mean for you guys long term yeah um it shows what this organization can do from you know from both ends of the ball just show um that you know we came to play um we don't take no opportunity for granted um you know we just want to be the best team out there uh we put in a lot of work throughout the uh season throughout the offseason and um we don't want to take any of these to opportunities for Advantage and you know that's continue to be great can I ask you about the pick six CU Coach B talked about there was no hesitation that you weren't even on your back foot like it seemed like when the ball was in the air you knew exactly where it was even before the ball was in the you knew exactly where was going to go yeah yeah yeah uh we we changed it up a little bit um you know what I'm saying um like coach was saying um we a better team this year from coaches to know players you know we we put a good product out there um he made a great call towards the end and I I kind of seen and I'm like oh yeah here it goes you know I read it and um yeah we took it to the house Sydney Brown talked about like in the secondary like the the two safeties and the nickel have to be some continuity there for you guys all to kind of like maximize what this defense can be so how do you craft that continu especially for you when you're maybe outside and inside yeah U just communication um Elite communication um like you say it's pretty loud out there a few mistakes out there but you know you just want to be aite communication on if we all on the same Pace we all on the same Pace if we all wrong we all right so you know we just want to be the best team out there you know the best secondary out there so yeah now you just going to keep your place all season last year I think you probably have to get tonight yeah yeah I'm definitely tomorrow I'm looking forward on Sund down I'm going be already ready standing up before coach put that picture up I'm already be standing up but yeah uh that's an example of you know how we Embrace taking the ball away you know that's just a little little excitement to have throughout there and just walk around with it on on your shoulder throughout the facility so that's just one thing we do to you know tell you know help us you know take the ball away I you guys talked about that all offseason like how does it go from maybe that just being a point of EMP something you talk about to having what seven takeaways in two G uh we do it in practice um like you say um we can't we won't do nothing different that we don't do in practice in the game when it say 7,000 people you not going to turn it on in game day so you know just our coaches being on us you know throughout the week of taking the ball and catching everything we see so you know them just embracing that and you know telling us throughout the week you know we enjoyed in the game you know it come like repetition now in back to back games you all have the quarterbacks to 100 under 150 yards passing yards how big is that for you all um it's big um um it started you know from the front to the back um it took all 11 of us to do this um not not one of us could have did it you know everybody just doing their job staying together you know helped us at the end of the day you know we going to continue to you know be the best us out there you know put good product in you know try to win as many games as possible try to be one to0 at the end of the week we probably got a different