Gabe Jacas: LB · Illinois · #17.
Closest statistical matches, adjusted for opponent strength.
Gabe Jacas
Fills the run lane and blitzes off the edge. Fourth year in the same linebacker corps at Illinois. That makes two straight seasons on the honors list: All-Big Ten again in 2025. On tape: 6 tackles and 2.5 tackles for loss against Wisconsin, Week 13, 2025.
Play style
Downhill striker who fills the run lane and blitzes off the edge.
Activity vs finishing · season enumeration
What the box score actually says
44 tackles. 1 pass defended. 0 interceptions. 13.5 TFL.
Counts only, never a rate — splash-event sample sizes this small (interceptions, pass breakups, TFL) are noise as a rate and signal only as a tally.
No outlet on our list has written about this player by name this season.
LancasterOnline Oct 25
Yahoo Sports Oct 25Swipe the table sideways for more columns.
Game log · Week-by-week
2025 season · 12 games
Swipe the table sideways for more columns.
| Wk | Opp | TKL | SOLO | TFL | SACK | INT | PD | Note |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Wk 1 | W 52-3vs Western Illinois | 5 | 4 | 2.5 | 2.0 | — | 1 | 2 sacks |
| Wk 2 | W 45-19@ Duke | 1 | 1 | 1.0 | 1.0 | — | 0 | |
| Wk 3 | W 38-0vs Western Michigan | 2 | 0 | 0.5 | 0.5 | — | 0 | |
| Wk 4 | L 10-63@ No. 19 Indiana | 4 | 2 | 0.0 | 0.0 | — | 0 | |
| Wk 5 | W 34-32vs No. 21 USC | 4 | 1 | 0.5 | 0.5 | — | 0 | |
| Wk 6 | W 43-27@ Purdue | 4 | 0 | 0.5 | 0.5 | — | 0 | |
| Wk 7 | L 16-34vs No. 1 Ohio State | 4 | 2 | 0.5 | 0.0 | — | 0 | |
| Wk 9 | L 25-42@ Washington | 4 | 3 | 0.0 | 0.0 | — | 0 | |
| Wk 10 | W 35-13vs Rutgers | 4 | 3 | 2.5 | 2.0 | — | 0 | 2 sacks |
| Wk 12 | W 24-6vs Maryland | 2 | 1 | 0.5 | 0.5 | — | 0 | |
| Wk 13 | L 10-27@ Wisconsin | 6 | 4 | 2.5 | 2.0 | — | 0 | Season-high 6 tackles |
| Wk 14 | W 20-13vs Northwestern | 4 | 2 | 2.5 | 2.0 | — | 0 | 2 sacks |
| Total | 44 | 23 | 13.5 | 11.0 | — | 1 |
Week 1 · 2025
W 52-3
2 sacks · 2.5 tackles for loss · 5 tackles
Dominant 49-point win at home against Western Illinois.
Where his impact shows up on the stat sheet
Tackle volume
44tackles this seasonTFL rate
31%14 TFLSack rate
25%11 sacksPD rate
2%1 pass breakups44 tackles · 13.5 for loss · 11 sacks.
4 seasons under Bret Bielema — 32-19 over that span.
Splits · Per-game
2025 season · 12 games
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
Head Coach
Bret Bielema
Pass share
45.6%
372 pass / 444 run
Plays / game
62.8
13 games
Team sack rate
8.3%
387 dropbacks · PBP
Scheme: Run-leaning.
Player standing · 2025
First team in his league at the position.
Recognition
Production · CFB Zeitgeist Score
Three-star recruit. Now #12 at the position.
The No. 1,261 recruit in the country is starting at linebacker in the Big Ten as a senior.
How it ended
Four seasons at Illinois, 178 tackles, a first-team All-Conference season (2025) — drafted at #55 overall by the New England Patriots.
A stat line in 46 games over four seasons.
Trophy case · Confirmed honors
What the selectors said
ALL-BIG TEN · 1ST TEAM
All-Big Ten 1st team (2025)
Weekly recognition
1 weekly honor (2024)
Big Ten Defensive Player of the Week
Coaching lineage · 2022–2025
1 coachPlayed every college season under Bret Bielema.
Next stop · NFL
New England Patriots2026 NFL rookie season
New England Patriots2026 NFL rookie season
