“Well we did figure out that having Bailey, Kreutz, and Kante involved in every play is helpful”
Ismael Kante
Is steady in every phase without a signature trait. Two seasons in the Illinois linebacker corps to date. A game that shows it: 10 tackles and 1.5 tackles for loss against Purdue — Week 5, 2026.
48 tackles · 0 sacks
Play style
Solid in every phase without a signature dimension.
Activity vs finishing · season enumeration
What the box score actually says
48 tackles. 0 passes defended. 1 interception. 3.5 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.
Closest statistical matches, adjusted for opponent strength.
Swipe the table sideways for more columns.
Last game (Wk 9): 4 tackles.
Game log · Week-by-week
2026 season · 8 games
Swipe the table sideways for more columns.
| Wk | Opp | TKL | SOLO | TFL | SACK | INT | PD | Note |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Wk 1 | W 42-23vs UAB | 6 | 2 | 0.0 | 0.0 | 1 | 0 | |
| Wk 2 | L 27-31vs Duke | 4 | 1 | 0.5 | 0.0 | — | 0 | |
| Wk 3 | W 48-10vs Southern Illinois | 5 | 2 | 0.5 | 0.0 | — | 0 | |
| Wk 4 | L 19-42@ No. 7 Ohio State | 4 | 2 | 0.0 | 0.0 | — | 0 | |
| Wk 5 | L 17-24vs Purdue | 10 | 7 | 1.5 | 0.0 | — | 0 | Season-high 10 tackles |
| Wk 6 | W 38-37@ Michigan State | 8 | 2 | 1.0 | 0.0 | — | 0 | |
| Wk 8 | W 21-10vs Oregon | 7 | 4 | 0.0 | 0.0 | — | 0 | |
| Wk 9 | W 20-17@ Maryland | 4 | 2 | 0.0 | 0.0 | — | 0 | |
| Total | 48 | 22 | 3.5 | 0.0 | 1 | 0 |
Oct. 31 · W 20-17 at Maryland, play by play
4 tackles.
Each small tick is one of his tackles on the play-by-play. His sacks are drawn as sacks.
His game this year: disruption in the backfield — 3 tackles for loss, in the 8 games with play by play.
How Illinois’s defense played that day
Maryland’s 10 drives: 7 stopped (2 takeaways) · 3 scored. While the game was within a score they held 7 of 10.
7 tackles. He hurried the quarterback once.
Each small tick is one of his tackles on the play-by-play. It places 8 for him; the box score credits 7.
8 tackles, including 1 more for loss.
Each small tick is one of his tackles on the play-by-play. It places 9 for him; the box score credits 8.
10 tackles, including 1 more for loss.
Each small tick is one of his tackles on the play-by-play. His sacks are drawn as sacks.
4 tackles.
Each small tick is one of his tackles on the play-by-play. His sacks are drawn as sacks.
5 tackles. He hurried the quarterback once.
Each small tick is one of his tackles on the play-by-play. His sacks are drawn as sacks.
4 tackles.
Each small tick is one of his tackles on the play-by-play. It places 5 for him; the box score credits 4.
A defensive touchdown: his interception went 59 yards for the score. 6 tackles.
Each small tick is one of his tackles on the play-by-play. His sacks are drawn as sacks.
Intercepted on 4th and 7, returned 59 yards for the score. Fourth quarter, made it 42-16.
Ratings of the games shown run from -10 to +29 points against an average team (SP+ rating of each opponent).
Where his impact shows up on the stat sheet
Tackle volume
48tackles this seasonTFL rate
7%4 TFLSack rate
0%0 sacksPD rate
0%0 pass breakups48 tackles · 3.5 for loss · 1 interception.
2 seasons under Bret Bielema — 14-7 over that span.
Splits · Per-game
2026 season · 8 games
Home vs Road
| TKL/g | TFL/g | SACK/g | PD/g | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Home5g | 6.4 | 0.5 | 0.0 | 0.0 |
| Road3g | 5.3 | 0.3 | 0.0 | 0.0 |
First half vs Second half
| TKL/g | TFL/g | SACK/g | PD/g | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Weeks 1-76g | 6.2 | 0.6 | 0.0 | 0.0 |
| Weeks 8+2g | 5.5 | 0.0 | 0.0 | 0.0 |
Supporting cast · Scheme
Staff and system around the player
Head Coach
Bret Bielema
Pass share
49.5%
243 pass / 248 run
Plays / game
61.4
8 games
Team sack rate
3.7%
271 dropbacks · PBP
Scheme: Balanced, slow tempo.
Player standing · 2026
About as many tackles a game as a typical FBS linebacker who plays every week.
Recognition
Production · CFB Zeitgeist Score
Three-star recruit. Now #226 at the position.
2026 is in progress.
