#17

Gabe Jacas

Former linebacker at Illinois. 2025: 44 tackles, 13.5 tackles for loss, 11 sacks.

LB · Illinois · Sr. · #17

6′3″ · 275 lb · Port Saint Lucie, FL

CFB Index 91 · #12 of 583 LBsHigh confidenceAll-Conf 1st teamDrafted by New England — Rd 2, Pick 23, #55 overall

How he plays

Fills the run lane and blitzes off the edge.

Sacks: 100th percentile.

The full scouting read

The numbers

tackles · 2025

13.5 TFL · 11 sacks · 1 PBU

Best game: 5 tackles, 2.5 TFL, 2 sacks, vs Western Illinois

His career numbers, season by season

The story

Former linebacker at Illinois. 2025: 44 tackles, 13.5 tackles for loss, 11 sacks.

Signed as a 3-star recruit to Illinois in 2022.
Drafted round 2 by the New England in 2026.

His career, year by year

How it ended

Four seasons at Illinois, 178 tackles, a first-team All-Conference season (2025) — drafted at #55 overall by New England.

His career

Nobody recruited him. He earned the honors anyway.

20229 games

Signed with Illinois3-star out of Fort Pierce Central

202413 games

All-Big Tenthird

202512 games

All-Big Tenfirst

2026

Drafted by New Englandround 2, pick 55

Career arc

Recruit

★★★

#1261 national

CFB

College

Illinois

2022–2025

NFL

NFL Draft

R2 · #55

New England · 2026

Trophy case · Confirmed honors

What the selectors said

3 honors · 1 category

🥈

ALL-BIG TEN · 1ST TEAM

All-Big Ten 1st team (2025)

Coaching lineage · 2022–2025

1 coach

2022–2025

Bret Bielema

Illinois

Played his entire career under Bret Bielema.

Where He Ended Up · NFL

New England2026 NFL rookie season

#55Rd 2 · Pick 23

New England2026 NFL rookie season

View college career stats ↓

2025 snapshot

Season context · Team result + system

4 seasons under Bret Bielema — 32-19 over that span.

2022Illinois8-5HC: Bret Bielema · Run-leaning

2023Illinois5-7HC: Bret Bielema · Balanced

2024Illinois10-3HC: Bret Bielema · Run-leaning, slow tempo

2025Illinois9-4HC: Bret Bielema · Run-leaning

Where this defender ranks vs the field

Box-score production percentiles vs the position cohort

91All-America level #12 of 583?

High confidence6 metrics · season cumulative

Elite: sacks (100th percentile). Strength: tackles for loss (99th percentile).

Box-score production (6)

Sacks#9 / 2975 · 100th pct

11.0

Tackles for loss#36 / 2975 · 99th pct

13.5

QB hurries#117 / 2975 · 95th pct

Tackles#756 / 2975 · 74th pct

Solo tackles#839 / 2975 · 71st pct

Passes defended#1191 / 2975 · 48th pct

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

2025 season · 12 games

Home/Road · Season halves

Home vs Road

	TKL/g	TFL/g	SACK/g	PD/g
Home7g	3.6	1.4	1.1	0.1
Road5g	3.8	0.8	0.7	0.0

First half vs Second half

	TKL/g	TFL/g	SACK/g	PD/g
Weeks 1-77g	3.4	0.8	0.6	0.1
Weeks 8+5g	4.0	1.6	1.3	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 · 2025

All-Conference 1st team

First team in his league at the position.

Recognition

Roster2-deepStarterRecognizedEliteApex

Production · CFB Index Score

91 · #12 of 583 LBs

Three-star recruit. Now #12 at the position.

Career stats

Season	Team
2025	Illinois	44	23	13.5	11.0	1	--	--
2024	Illinois	71	38	13.0	8.0	--	--	--
2023	Illinois	31	22	4.0	3.0	1	--	--
2022	Illinois	32	13	5.0	4.0	--	--	--
Career		178	96	35.5	26.0	2	--	--

Signature game

SIGNATURE GAME · Week 5 · 2025

W 34–32

vs USC

4 TOT · 1 SOLO · 0 SACKS

Edged out USC at home in a shootout.

With L. Altmyer — 328 yds · 2 TD · 0 INT · QBR 97.5 · 28 rush yds (5 car) · 1 TD · H. Beatty — 3 yds · 1 TD · 0 INT · QBR 100.0

Game log

Game log · Week-by-week