Jaheim Clarke
Hits like a linebacker and still takes the ball away. Fourth year in the Illinois secondary. One game to point at: 10 tackles and 1 tackle for loss against Oregon — Week 8, 2026.
40 tackles · 0 sacks
Play style
Hits like a linebacker and still takes the ball away.
Activity vs finishing · season enumeration
What the box score actually says
40 tackles. 8 passes defended. 0 interceptions. 1 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.
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.
Last game (Wk 9): 1 pass breakup, 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 | 1 | 1 | 0.0 | 0.0 | — | 0 | |
| Wk 2 | L 27-31vs Duke | 6 | 3 | 0.0 | 0.0 | — | 0 | |
| Wk 3 | W 48-10vs Southern Illinois | 7 | 5 | 0.0 | 0.0 | — | 2 | |
| Wk 4 | L 19-42@ No. 7 Ohio State | 7 | 6 | 0.0 | 0.0 | — | 2 | |
| Wk 5 | L 17-24vs Purdue | 3 | 0 | 0.0 | 0.0 | — | 1 | |
| Wk 6 | W 38-37@ Michigan State | 2 | 2 | 0.0 | 0.0 | — | 0 | |
| Wk 8 | W 21-10vs Oregon | 10 | 7 | 1.0 | 0.0 | — | 2 | Season-high 10 tackles |
| Wk 9 | W 20-17@ Maryland | 4 | 4 | 0.0 | 0.0 | — | 1 | |
| Total | 40 | 28 | 1.0 | 0.0 | — | 8 |
Oct. 31 · W 20-17 at Maryland, play by play
4 tackles, including 1 pass broken up.
Each small tick is one of his tackles on the play-by-play. His sacks are drawn as sacks.
His game this year: coverage — 8 passes defended 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. His pbu came with Illinois down 7.
10 tackles, including 1 more for loss, 2 passes broken up.
Each small tick is one of his tackles on the play-by-play. His sacks are drawn as sacks.
2 tackles. The fumble he forced ended Michigan State’s drive (fumble).
Each small tick is one of his tackles on the play-by-play: 1 of his 2, sacks included.
Forced a fumble. Third quarter, up 20-7. Ended Michigan State’s drive (fumble).
3 tackles, including 1 pass broken up.
Each small tick is one of his tackles on the play-by-play. His sacks are drawn as sacks.
7 tackles, including 2 passes broken up.
Each small tick is one of his tackles on the play-by-play. His sacks are drawn as sacks.
7 tackles, including 2 passes broken up, tied for 4th-most passes broken up in FBS that week. His pass breakup on 4th and 2 ended Southern Illinois’s drive (downs).
Each small tick is one of his tackles on the play-by-play. His sacks are drawn as sacks.
Broke up a pass on 4th and 2. Second quarter, up 21-7. Ended Southern Illinois’s drive (downs).
6 tackles.
Each small tick is one of his tackles on the play-by-play. His sacks are drawn as sacks.
1 tackle.
Each small tick is one of his tackles on the play-by-play. His sacks are drawn as sacks.
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
PD rate
20%8 pass breakupsTackle volume
40tackles this seasonTFL rate
2%1 TFL40 tackles · 1 for loss · 8 pass breakups.
4 seasons under Bret Bielema — 29-17 over that span.
Splits · Per-game
2026 season · 8 games
Home vs Road
| TKL/g | TFL/g | SACK/g | PD/g | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Home5g | 5.4 | 0.2 | 0.0 | 1.0 |
| Road3g | 4.3 | 0.0 | 0.0 | 1.0 |
First half vs Second half
| TKL/g | TFL/g | SACK/g | PD/g | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Weeks 1-76g | 4.3 | 0.0 | 0.0 | 0.8 |
| Weeks 8+2g | 7.0 | 0.5 | 0.0 | 1.5 |
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
40 tackles in 8 games, about as many tackles a game as a typical FBS defensive back who plays every week.
Recognition
Production · CFB Zeitgeist Score
Three-star recruit. Now #118 at the position.
2026 outlook
Outside shot for All-Big Ten
Based on 2025: #58 of 77 Big Ten DBs
A base rate for the rank, not a forecast of this player: 15% of returning players who ranked #21 or lower at their position in their conference made an all-conference team the next season (95% confidence interval 13–17%).
2026 is in progress.
A stat line in 27 games over four seasons.
Coaching lineage · 2023–2026
1 coachPlayed every college season under Bret Bielema.
