Oct 21, 2026 | Football, Sports Extra
By: D. Scott Fritchen
A calmness falls over sophomore JoJo Scott as he tells the tale, the one that began holding the pigskin at age 7, and that featured adversity and an uncertain path handful of years later before the young cornerback rediscovered his passion for the gridiron. The 19-year-old Scott didn't have the easiest road, but he says that he didn't have the hardest road, either, growing up the baby of three children and watching his mother, Priscilla, do everything that she could for her children in Lakeland, Florida.
JoJo saw the challenges, the ones that his mother faced before Chris Clinton walked through that door, becoming his stepdad, and teaching JoJo about being a man and about life and about football. Clinton had played at linebacker at the University of Maryland and knew about toughness and handling business.
Today, JoJo Scott is making Kansas State football his business.
"My mom is my 'why,'" Scott says. "She's my rock and she's been through a lot. Football is an opportunity to help her. Growing up, she went through a lot. I feel that football is a steppingstone to help my parents. I mean, I go into every game thanking the Lord for giving me athletic ability, and I pray for my parents. Growing up, mom was a single parent for a little bit. With my stepdad, I had somebody who had played college football, and he's helped me a lot."
After starting football at an early age, Scott punted football to the sideline. He played both football and basketball, but when COVID hit, he had to stop playing football in middle school. But he could still play basketball. And he believed that basketball could take him to great heights.
"Football got taken away because of COVID, and when COVID hit, I lost faith in football because I was just hooping," Scott says. "When I started playing again, I just didn't have the love for football that I did earlier. My freshman year in high school, I re-found that love."
As a freshman at Victory Christian Academy, Scott could dunk a basketball, and he enjoyed track. Football? He was ready to give it a try again.
The decision to resume playing football paid dividends. He averaged 6.0 points, 2.8 assists and 1.5 steals per game on the hardwood as a sophomore, and he recorded a 6-foot, 3-inch high jump, and turned the eyes of college football coaches as well.
"My first scholarship offer came from Florida Atlantic my sophomore year when I was at an AAU tournament," Scott says. "My coach called me and said, 'FAU came to see you and offer you.' I was like, 'Dang,' and I knew if I really put my head down that I could go someplace with this and that I could be special."
The scholarship offers rolled in as Scott proved himself to be one of the more talented players in the area. As a sophomore, he recorded 17 tackles and three interceptions and had 14 catches for 233 yards and three touchdowns. Between his sophomore and senior seasons, Scott collected 57 tackles, including 1.5 tackles for loss, seven interceptions, one forced fumble and three fumble recoveries to go along with 20 catches for 300 yards and three touchdowns while playing cornerback and wide receiver his final two years.
UCF, Iowa State, Wisconsin, Nebraska and Oregon State came calling before former K-State cornerbacks coach Van Malone called and invited Scott to visit Manhattan on June 14, 2024.
That proved to be the game changer for Scott.
"Manhattan kind of reminded me of where I'm from because Lakeland is a small area, really, and it's strictly football there with people trying to make it out of there," Scott says. "When I came to Manhattan, I saw it was a family environment, and people loved football here, and it's something I really wanted to be a part of.
"I always wanted to go out and chase an opportunity. I came out here with my parents and they loved it just as much as I did. Sunday morning, before our flight, mom asked me, 'Do you want to go here?' I said, 'I'd love to go here.' She said, 'Commit then. I love it here.' Seeing my parents happy made me happy and I knew this was the place for me."
During his recruiting process, Scott also visited Kansas. Scott met a man named Jordan Peterson, who served as defensive backs coach and defensive passing game coordinator for the Jayhawks.
That man — Peterson — is now in his first season as defensive coordinator at K-State.
Which made the adjustment for Scott easier when Chris Klieman retired after the 2025 season and K-State hired Collin Klein, who immediately hired Peterson onto his staff as defensive coordinator. As a freshman, Scott played against Oklahoma State, Utah and Colorado as a member of the punt return unit. He had no on-field experience as a defensive player. But he maintained faith that he could fit in with what Peterson was building for the Wildcats' defense this fall.
"It was a little crazy," Scott says. "I talked to my parents about it. With me not playing last year, I didn't really know what I was going to do after the 2025 season. Then I heard that Coach Peterson was coming to K-State. I knew Coach Peterson when he was at KU. Knowing he was coming here, I thought it was a great opportunity for me. Then all the coaches came in, and we did all the stations and built bonds, and I thought this would be a special year for me."
Then came the meeting. It happened during spring practice.
The proposal? To move Scott from the position he had played since he was a young child — cornerback — to nickelback, who is the fifth defensive back on the field, and who acts as versatile defenders who must defend against the pass, support the run, and occasionally rush the quarterback on a blitz. Scott would primarily line up in the slot area to cover fast third wide receivers, tight ends or pass-catching running backs.
"It was whatever got me on the field, basically," Scott says. "You have to be the quarterback of the defense. I accepted the challenge. I like to compete. So, when they told me I was going to nickel, I was ready to compete. I wanted to be on the field. At nickel, you have to know what everybody is doing, so I got the extra hours in, got into the playbook, and learned what I'm doing to help myself and others.
"I'm confident. Every time I'm on the field, I'm confident."
That confidence has shined through as K-State, 4-2 overall and 1-2 in the Big 12 Conference, prepares to visit Arizona State, 3-3 and 1-2, in Saturday's 2:45 p.m. (CT) kickoff at Mountain America Stadium. Scott has 10 tackles and has defended five passes this season, including career highs with three tackles and two pass breakups against No. 22 Houston while he most recently batted away another two passes in the Wildcats' 35-24 win over Kansas last Saturday.
After starting the first five games of the season at nickelback, Scott started at cornerback against Kansas and was key in several defensive stops.
"Playing nickel and corner, I've matured so much football wise because I'm just playing two different positions, and I'm in the playbook, and I'm the facility a ton, working on my body and getting film," Scott says. "Honestly, I had a lot of confidence going into my first game. A lot of people asked me if I was nervous. I wasn't nervous. It felt amazing to be out there because I had earned the right to be on this field, and I had put the work in and was excited to be out there with the guys.
"The work that I put in had paid off. It was an amazing feeling."
K-State has allowed only 136.3 passing yards per game this season, which ranks third in the FBS and is best in the Big 12 by 35.0 yards per game. One of the main reasons the Wildcats are stout against the pass is they rank fifth in the Big 12 with 2.2 sacks per game and 12th nationally with 7.5 tackles for loss per game.
"I watch so much film and us as a group that we see the formation and know what route concepts are coming," Scott says. "Knowing the team is going to do gives you so much confidence. Our pass defense is special. We don't let it get to our heads because we know we're going to see a lot of wide receiver groups. I'm a part of such a great defense. We have great guys on the defensive line and our linebackers. We have a lot of leaders, and I'm following in their footsteps and we're playing together, and people see it coming together on Saturdays. It's been fun to showcase the talent we have. We just have to keep working and taking it day by day, and we're going to shock a lot of people.
"Coach Klein said when he got here that we'd try and build something special with a new foundation, and we're stacking brick by brick every week. Being a part of this group, it's special."
Scott, who didn't play a single defensive snap last season, now is a major piece in an upstart defensive effort that is making things plenty difficult for opposing offenses. He has learned much along the way. And he continues to learn every day.
"What have I learned most about myself?" he says. "That I was going to be special. I just had to put my head down and find my 'why.' I found my 'why.'
"It's my mom."
A calmness falls over sophomore JoJo Scott as he tells the tale, the one that began holding the pigskin at age 7, and that featured adversity and an uncertain path handful of years later before the young cornerback rediscovered his passion for the gridiron. The 19-year-old Scott didn't have the easiest road, but he says that he didn't have the hardest road, either, growing up the baby of three children and watching his mother, Priscilla, do everything that she could for her children in Lakeland, Florida.
JoJo saw the challenges, the ones that his mother faced before Chris Clinton walked through that door, becoming his stepdad, and teaching JoJo about being a man and about life and about football. Clinton had played at linebacker at the University of Maryland and knew about toughness and handling business.
Today, JoJo Scott is making Kansas State football his business.
"My mom is my 'why,'" Scott says. "She's my rock and she's been through a lot. Football is an opportunity to help her. Growing up, she went through a lot. I feel that football is a steppingstone to help my parents. I mean, I go into every game thanking the Lord for giving me athletic ability, and I pray for my parents. Growing up, mom was a single parent for a little bit. With my stepdad, I had somebody who had played college football, and he's helped me a lot."
After starting football at an early age, Scott punted football to the sideline. He played both football and basketball, but when COVID hit, he had to stop playing football in middle school. But he could still play basketball. And he believed that basketball could take him to great heights.
"Football got taken away because of COVID, and when COVID hit, I lost faith in football because I was just hooping," Scott says. "When I started playing again, I just didn't have the love for football that I did earlier. My freshman year in high school, I re-found that love."
As a freshman at Victory Christian Academy, Scott could dunk a basketball, and he enjoyed track. Football? He was ready to give it a try again.
The decision to resume playing football paid dividends. He averaged 6.0 points, 2.8 assists and 1.5 steals per game on the hardwood as a sophomore, and he recorded a 6-foot, 3-inch high jump, and turned the eyes of college football coaches as well.
"My first scholarship offer came from Florida Atlantic my sophomore year when I was at an AAU tournament," Scott says. "My coach called me and said, 'FAU came to see you and offer you.' I was like, 'Dang,' and I knew if I really put my head down that I could go someplace with this and that I could be special."
The scholarship offers rolled in as Scott proved himself to be one of the more talented players in the area. As a sophomore, he recorded 17 tackles and three interceptions and had 14 catches for 233 yards and three touchdowns. Between his sophomore and senior seasons, Scott collected 57 tackles, including 1.5 tackles for loss, seven interceptions, one forced fumble and three fumble recoveries to go along with 20 catches for 300 yards and three touchdowns while playing cornerback and wide receiver his final two years.
UCF, Iowa State, Wisconsin, Nebraska and Oregon State came calling before former K-State cornerbacks coach Van Malone called and invited Scott to visit Manhattan on June 14, 2024.
That proved to be the game changer for Scott.
"Manhattan kind of reminded me of where I'm from because Lakeland is a small area, really, and it's strictly football there with people trying to make it out of there," Scott says. "When I came to Manhattan, I saw it was a family environment, and people loved football here, and it's something I really wanted to be a part of.
"I always wanted to go out and chase an opportunity. I came out here with my parents and they loved it just as much as I did. Sunday morning, before our flight, mom asked me, 'Do you want to go here?' I said, 'I'd love to go here.' She said, 'Commit then. I love it here.' Seeing my parents happy made me happy and I knew this was the place for me."
During his recruiting process, Scott also visited Kansas. Scott met a man named Jordan Peterson, who served as defensive backs coach and defensive passing game coordinator for the Jayhawks.
That man — Peterson — is now in his first season as defensive coordinator at K-State.
Which made the adjustment for Scott easier when Chris Klieman retired after the 2025 season and K-State hired Collin Klein, who immediately hired Peterson onto his staff as defensive coordinator. As a freshman, Scott played against Oklahoma State, Utah and Colorado as a member of the punt return unit. He had no on-field experience as a defensive player. But he maintained faith that he could fit in with what Peterson was building for the Wildcats' defense this fall.
"It was a little crazy," Scott says. "I talked to my parents about it. With me not playing last year, I didn't really know what I was going to do after the 2025 season. Then I heard that Coach Peterson was coming to K-State. I knew Coach Peterson when he was at KU. Knowing he was coming here, I thought it was a great opportunity for me. Then all the coaches came in, and we did all the stations and built bonds, and I thought this would be a special year for me."
Then came the meeting. It happened during spring practice.
The proposal? To move Scott from the position he had played since he was a young child — cornerback — to nickelback, who is the fifth defensive back on the field, and who acts as versatile defenders who must defend against the pass, support the run, and occasionally rush the quarterback on a blitz. Scott would primarily line up in the slot area to cover fast third wide receivers, tight ends or pass-catching running backs.
"It was whatever got me on the field, basically," Scott says. "You have to be the quarterback of the defense. I accepted the challenge. I like to compete. So, when they told me I was going to nickel, I was ready to compete. I wanted to be on the field. At nickel, you have to know what everybody is doing, so I got the extra hours in, got into the playbook, and learned what I'm doing to help myself and others.
"I'm confident. Every time I'm on the field, I'm confident."
That confidence has shined through as K-State, 4-2 overall and 1-2 in the Big 12 Conference, prepares to visit Arizona State, 3-3 and 1-2, in Saturday's 2:45 p.m. (CT) kickoff at Mountain America Stadium. Scott has 10 tackles and has defended five passes this season, including career highs with three tackles and two pass breakups against No. 22 Houston while he most recently batted away another two passes in the Wildcats' 35-24 win over Kansas last Saturday.
After starting the first five games of the season at nickelback, Scott started at cornerback against Kansas and was key in several defensive stops.
"Playing nickel and corner, I've matured so much football wise because I'm just playing two different positions, and I'm in the playbook, and I'm the facility a ton, working on my body and getting film," Scott says. "Honestly, I had a lot of confidence going into my first game. A lot of people asked me if I was nervous. I wasn't nervous. It felt amazing to be out there because I had earned the right to be on this field, and I had put the work in and was excited to be out there with the guys.
"The work that I put in had paid off. It was an amazing feeling."
K-State has allowed only 136.3 passing yards per game this season, which ranks third in the FBS and is best in the Big 12 by 35.0 yards per game. One of the main reasons the Wildcats are stout against the pass is they rank fifth in the Big 12 with 2.2 sacks per game and 12th nationally with 7.5 tackles for loss per game.
"I watch so much film and us as a group that we see the formation and know what route concepts are coming," Scott says. "Knowing the team is going to do gives you so much confidence. Our pass defense is special. We don't let it get to our heads because we know we're going to see a lot of wide receiver groups. I'm a part of such a great defense. We have great guys on the defensive line and our linebackers. We have a lot of leaders, and I'm following in their footsteps and we're playing together, and people see it coming together on Saturdays. It's been fun to showcase the talent we have. We just have to keep working and taking it day by day, and we're going to shock a lot of people.
"Coach Klein said when he got here that we'd try and build something special with a new foundation, and we're stacking brick by brick every week. Being a part of this group, it's special."
Scott, who didn't play a single defensive snap last season, now is a major piece in an upstart defensive effort that is making things plenty difficult for opposing offenses. He has learned much along the way. And he continues to learn every day.
"What have I learned most about myself?" he says. "That I was going to be special. I just had to put my head down and find my 'why.' I found my 'why.'
"It's my mom."
Players Mentioned
CB
/ FootballWednesday, October 21
Wednesday, October 21
Wednesday, October 21
Wednesday, October 21
