Former linebacker at Illinois. 2024: 7 tackles, 2.5 tackles for loss, 1 sack.
6′5″ · 255 lb · Wichita Falls, TX
Recruiting
WDE recruit
No. 1308 nationally · Signed with Illinois
No college snaps yet.
His career numbers, season by seasonThe story
Former linebacker at Illinois. 2024: 7 tackles, 2.5 tackles for loss, 1 sack.
Ezekiel Holmes
Ezekiel Holmes has been at Illinois through two head coaches in five seasons. The receipt on tape: 2 tackles, 1 sacks against Minnesota, Week 10, 2024.
Low coverage — composed from the verified record.
How it ended
Five seasons at Illinois, 25 tackles — his college career is complete.
His career
He was on the field for 5 seasons. That is rarer than it sounds.
Career arc
Coaching lineage · 2020–2024
2 coachesCoaching transition mid-career: Rod Smith → Bret Bielema. Worth noting in scheme + development context.
Season context · Team result + system
Where this defender ranks vs the field
Box-score production percentiles vs the position cohort
Concern: tackles (0th 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
2024 season · 6 games
Home vs Road
| TKL/g | TFL/g | SACK/g | PD/g | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Home5g | 1.2 | 0.5 | 0.2 | 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 1-72g | 0.5 | 0.0 | 0.0 | 0.0 |
| Weeks 8+4g | 1.5 | 0.6 | 0.2 | 0.2 |
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 · 2024
On the two-deep and pushing for snaps.
SIGNATURE GAME · Week 18 · 2024
W 21–17
1 TOT · 1 SOLO
A wire-to-wire battle — won by 4 at home.
With L. Altmyer — 174 yds · 1 TD · 1 INT · QBR 87.7 · -2 rush yds (3 car) · H. Beatty — 4 rec · 90 yds
Game log · Week-by-week
2024 season · 6 games
| Wk | Opp | TKL | SOLO | TFL | SACK | INT | PD | Note |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Wk 7 | W 50-49vs Purdue | 0 | 0 | 0.0 | 0.0 | — | 0 | |
| Wk 8 | W 21-7vs Michigan | 2 | 1 | 1.0 | 0.0 | — | 1 | Season-high 2 tackles |
| Wk 10 | L 17-25vs Minnesota | 2 | 1 | 1.0 | 1.0 | — | 0 | |
| Wk 12 | W 38-16vs Michigan State | 1 | 0 | 0.5 | 0.0 | — | 0 | |
| Wk 14 | W 38-28@ Northwestern | 1 | 1 | 0.0 | 0.0 | — | 0 | |
| Bowl | W 21-17vs South Carolina | 1 | 1 | 0.0 | 0.0 | — | 0 | |
| Total | 7 | 4 | 2.5 | 1.0 | — | 1 |