Illinois Football: Xavier Scott’s Return Solidifies a Dangerous 2026 Secondary

With Illinois Football star defensive back Xavier Scott announcing his return to Champaign for his fifth and final season, it’s a strong possibility that the Fighting Illini—pending health—will field a dangerous secondary in 2026.

In addition to Scott’s return, starting safety Matthew Bailey and fellow starting defensive backs Juice Clarke, Mac Resetich, and Tanner Heckel will also make the return to Aaron Henry’s crew next season. Notably, all but Heckel (Junior) will be seniors in 2026. That said, considering the transfer portal overhaul Illinois’ defense has recently experienced, having a secondary stacked with seasoned veterans who can be vocal leaders for a unit with several new, but talented pieces in 2026, is crucial to sustaining success moving forward.

Early on, it appeared that there was a strong possibility that Scott and Bailey would be NFL-bound. Luckily for Illinois Football, the star duo elected to return for one final run.

Can the Illini outshine their expectations in 2026, in year one of the post-Luke Altmyer era? Building a confident defense that is capable of allowing new QB transfer Katin Houser plenty of opportunities to settle into Barry Lunney Jr’s offense, thus controlling time of possession, will be key.

Illinois will return Xavier Scott, Matt Bailey, AND Juice Clarke to their secondary. Lot of strong, veteran production returning with some young talent in the room #illini pic.twitter.com/fYQL5iAHb4

— Armchair Illinois (@ArmchairIllini) January 16, 2026

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