Denzel Daxon

Senior defensive lineman on Illinois's 2023 roster.

DL · Illinois · Sr. · #6

6′2″ · 320 lb · Nassau, NP

CFB Index 18 · #276 of 302 interior linemenLow confidenceIllinois 2023 alumnus

Recruiting

3★

DT recruit

No. 649 nationally · Signed with Miami Carol City

No college snaps yet.

His career numbers, season by season

The story

4 defensive lineman on Illinois's roster.

Signed as a 3-star recruit to Miami Carol City in 2019.
Transferred from Ohio to Illinois in 2023.

His career, year by year

How it ended

Three seasons at Illinois, 1 sacks — his college career is complete.

His career

2019

Recruited3-star out of Miami Carol City

202310 games

Entered the portal

Career arc

Recruit

★★★

#649 national

CFB

College

2 teams

2021–2023

NFL

NFL Draft

—

Not drafted

Coaching lineage · 2021–2023

1 coach

2021–2023

Bret Bielema

Illinois

Played his entire career under Bret Bielema.

2023 snapshot

Season context · Team result + system

2021Ohio3-9HC: Tim Albin · Run-leaning, slow tempo

2022Ohio10-4HC: Tim Albin · Balanced

2023Illinois5-7HC: Bret Bielema · Balanced

Where this defender ranks vs the field

Box-score production percentiles vs the position cohort

18Below cohort / limited sample #276 of 302?

Low confidence6 metrics · season cumulative

Concern: tackles for loss (18th percentile).

Box-score production (6)

QB hurries#902 / 2842 · 58th pct

Tackles#1465 / 2842 · 47th pct

Solo tackles#2046 / 2842 · 25th pct

Sacks#1503 / 2842 · 24th pct

0.0

Passes defended#1751 / 2842 · 19th pct

Tackles for loss#2235 / 2842 · 18th pct

0.5

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 & context

Splits · Per-game

2023 season · 10 games

Home/Road · Season halves

Home vs Road

	TKL/g	TFL/g	SACK/g	PD/g
Home6g	3.3	0.1	0.0	0.0
Road4g	1.8	0.0	0.0	0.0

First half vs Second half

	TKL/g	TFL/g	SACK/g	PD/g
Weeks 1-75g	2.6	0.1	0.0	0.0
Weeks 8+5g	2.8	0.0	0.0	0.0

Supporting cast · Scheme

Staff and system around the player

2026 season

Head Coach

Bret Bielema

Scheme reads (pass share, tempo, sack rate) need at least 3 team games — 2 games in so far.

Awards

Player standing · 2023

Part-time starter

Tackle volume for the position in part-time-starter range.

Recognition

Roster2-deepStarterRecognizedEliteApex

Production · CFB Index Score

18 · #276 of 302 interior linemen

Three-star recruit. Now #276 at the position.

Career stats

Season	Team
2023	Illinois	27	9	0.5	0.0	--	--	--
2022	Ohio	3	2	0.0	0.0	--	--	--
2021	Ohio	7	2	2.0	1.0	--	--	--
Career		37	13	2.5	1.0	--	--	--

Game log

Game log · Week-by-week

2023 season · 10 games

Box score · CFBD

Wk	Opp	TKL	SOLO	TFL	INT	Note
Wk 1	W 30-28vs Toledo	3	1	0.5	—
Wk 2	L 23-34@ Kansas	1	1	0.0	—
Wk 4	W 23-17vs Florida Atlantic	3	1	0.0	—
Wk 5	L 19-44@ Purdue	2	2	0.0	—
Wk 6	L 7-20vs Nebraska	4	0	0.0	—	Season-high 4 tackles
Wk 8	L 21-25vs Wisconsin	3	0	0.0	—
Wk 10	W 27-26@ Minnesota	1	1	0.0	—
Wk 11	W 48-45vs Indiana	3	0	0.0	—
Wk 12	L 13-15@ Iowa	3	2	0.0	—
Wk 13	L 43-45vs Northwestern	4	1	0.0	—
Total		27	9	0.5	—

Stats from CFBD · ESPN · fan discourse. Every figure computed from source tables — not invented. Methodology

Denzel Daxon

2019

202310 games

2023 snapshot

Splits & context

Awards

Part-time starter

Career stats

Game log

How he plays

DNA match

Nose Anchor

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