Senior linebacker for Illinois. 2025: 11 tackles.
6′1″ · 255 lb · Kansas City, KS · Bishop Ward
The numbers
tackles · 2025
1 PBU
Best game: 5 tackles, vs Tennessee
His career numbers, season by seasonThe story
4 linebacker for Illinois. 2025: 11 tackles.
Daniel Brown
This is his second year in the same linebacker corps at Illinois. The receipt on tape: 5 tackles against Tennessee, Bowl, 2025.
Low coverage — composed from the verified record.
His career
Career arc
Season context · Team result + system
2 seasons under Bret Bielema — 19-7 over that span.
Where this defender ranks vs the field
Box-score production percentiles vs the position cohort
Concern: solo tackles (4th percentile).
Percentiles are versus same-position peers with enough snaps this season, based on box-score production. There are no play-by-play efficiency bars here: CFBD's play-value model credits offensive players only, so no defensive EPA exists to rank.
Splits · Per-game
2025 season · 5 games
Home vs Road
| TKL/g | TFL/g | SACK/g | PD/g | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Home4g | 2.5 | 0.0 | 0.0 | 0.2 |
| Road1g | 1.0 | 0.0 | 0.0 | 0.0 |
First half vs Second half
| TKL/g | TFL/g | SACK/g | PD/g | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Weeks 1-73g | 2.0 | 0.0 | 0.0 | 0.0 |
| Weeks 8+2g | 2.5 | 0.0 | 0.0 | 0.5 |
Supporting cast · Scheme
Staff and system around the player
Head Coach
Bret Bielema
Scheme reads (pass share, tempo, sack rate) need at least 3 team games — 2 games in so far.
Player standing · 2025
On the two-deep and pushing for snaps.
Game log · Week-by-week
2025 season · 5 games
| Wk | Opp | TKL | SOLO | TFL | SACK | INT | PD | Note |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Wk 1 | W 52-3vs Western Illinois | 0 | 0 | 0.0 | 0.0 | — | 0 | Season-high 5 tackles |
| Wk 2 | W 45-19@ Duke | 1 | 0 | 0.0 | 0.0 | — | 0 | |
| Wk 10 | W 35-13vs Rutgers | 3 | 2 | 0.0 | 0.0 | — | 1 | |
| Wk 14 | W 20-13vs Northwestern | 2 | 0 | 0.0 | 0.0 | — | 0 | |
| Bowl | W 30-28vs Tennessee | 5 | 2 | 0.0 | 0.0 | — | 0 | |
| Total | 11 | 4 | 0.0 | 0.0 | — | 1 |
2026 Outlook
Illinois
2026 Depth chart
Projected starter
Linebacker · Illinois
Returning around him
2026 Award watch
No preseason watch lists yet (most drop June 15 – July 15)
Illinois · Last season: 9-4 (AP #23) · Talent rank #51 · 2026 recruiting class #24
University of Illinois Graduate 2025 - Illinois Played in nine games with two starts Career-high five tackles (two solo) in start in Music City Bowl victory vs. #23 Tennessee (12/30/25) Three tackles (two solo) and one PBU in win vs. Rutgers (11/1/25) Started first game at Illinois and made one t...
10 more on the roster · Illinois team page