Key Takeaways
- The Illinois Fighting Illini will be pushing for a College Football Playoff spot, and Gabe Jacas is at the forefront of their defense.
- Jacas, who is a top prospect for the 2026 NFL draft, sat down with RG and discussed his personal and team goals for the upcoming campaign.
- The youngster also revealed the current NFL stars he idolizes, including TJ Watt and Myles Garrett.
#17 Gabe Jacas (Photo by Michael Hickey/Getty Images)
Last year's Illinois Fighting Illini football team finished with a 10-3 record, and the #16 ranking in the final Associated Press poll. Given how they return 18/22 starters from last season, expectations are sky high for 2025. Last season was a very special one at Illinois, and now the fans are ready for not just an encore, but perhaps something even greater.
A College Football Playoff berth is absolutely a realistic possibility this upcoming season. On this deep, talented Illini team no one has higher NFL Draft stock than edge rusher Gabe Jacas.
The Godfather of NFL Draft gurus, Mel Kiper Jr., believes he'll be a first-round pick in next April's draft while ESPN's Jordan Reid has him pegged as a top five edge rusher in the 2026 draft class.
Tankathon currently has Jacas going in the 2nd round of the 2026 NFL Draft, 63rd overall. Meanwhile Draft Sharks have Jacas going in the same round, seven slots earlier, at #56.
"He's gonna make a lot of money in the NFL one day," Jacas' teammate, Illinois quarterback Luke Altmyer, told the media during Illini Night at Wrigley Field.
Rising Star on a Mission
NFL scouts will tell you that there is a whole lot to love about Jacas, and that starts with his propensity to play at his best when the lights are the brightest.
The best game that Jacas has ever played, thus far, came in the 2024 Citrus Bowl, where he recorded a career-high 3.0 tackles for loss and eight tackles in the 21-17 win over #14 South Carolina.
The quarterback for South Carolina is LaNorris Sellers, who is widely considered to be a top-three QB and top-ten overall prospect in the upcoming draft. To be the best, you have to beat the best, and Jacas described how best to defend Sellers, while also getting into how the Illini coaching staff game-planned against him.
"He's fast. He's really good on his legs," Jacas said in an exclusive with RG. "I feel like that Clemson game, he beat them single-handedly, just by his legs.
"So the game plan was pretty much just containing him, and crushing the pocket.
"Because he's really good, if there are any holes in the passing lanes. The whole plan was having good rush lanes and containing (them) with leverage.
"He's a really good player, and he's gonna be a really good player in the future. So I'm really excited for him and his future."
After the Citrus Bowl, South Carolina head coach Shane Beamer gave a very short list of Illini defenders that stood out to him, with Jacas leading the way.
This spring, CBS Sports named the Illlini senior and community health major as the 20th best overall player in college football. Athlon pegged him as a third-team preseason All-American.
Individually, Jacas has the reputation and the kudos. However, football is obviously a team game, and the 6'3" 275-pound tour de force discussed how his team doubled their win total (from 5 in 2023 to 10 in 2024) last year.
"Having just the brotherhood meaning in football," he explained. "Always showing up for each other.
"There were games where we, as a defense, needed the offense. In other games, the offense needed us as a defense.
"So just depending on each other, counting on each other, to show up and do our jobs, and that's what we did each game."
Jacas Committed to Being His Absolute Best
While Jacas has sky high NFL Draft stock, he is not complacent by any means. He knows the specific fundamental portions of this game that he needs to work on in order to make his National Football League dreams come true.
"It's hand placement, it's leverage," he said. "It's staying low, and just that first that get off, that first step, and just being quicker off the ball."
He continued on: "doing different moves, doing moves that can help me win (individual matchups) faster. So there are always things I can improve on in my game, and I've been working on those things."
The budding star possesses a skill set that's exactly what the NFL is looking for right now: OLBs in a base 3-4 defense who can consistently get to the quarterback.
Jacas plays the positions of Edge/Edge Rusher, which is also known as Defensive End and/or sometimes Outside Linebacker.
When the NFL evolved into a very pass-first league, the demand for pass rushers rose considerably. The DE/OLB/Edge position is in incredibly high demand in today's National Football League.
"To me it's the same thing," Jacas articulated when describing the position in detail.
"D End, Edge rusher, outside linebacker, they all do the same things.
"I can say I'm a little versatile at times. I can go into three, I can go outside. And as you can tell, they get paid really well to rush the quarterback, so it's really one of the best, premier positions in football.
"And I love being in that position. It's fun attacking the quarterback. It's fun going against tackles. You know, I wouldn't ask for anything else."
Jacas was named to the Lott IMPACT Trophy Watch List, which is composed of the top 42 defensive players in college football, rated by the impact they are projected to make, both on and off the field, this upcoming season.
Off the field impact can obviously be very hard to quantify. On the field, the Port St. Lucie, Florida native put up numbers last season that simply speak for themselves.
In starting all 13 games last term, he totaled 74 tackles while leading the Illini in tackles for a loss (13), sacks (8), and quarterback hurries (10). He also did his part towards winning the turnover battle, by forcing three fumbles and making one fumble recovery.
The discussion then turned to specific edge rushers in the league that he looks up to/models his game on.
"Trey Hendrickson, Myles Garrett, and I know he's not in the league anymore, but Justin Houston- I watch his game a lot," Jacas said.
"Jonathan Greenard, TJ Watt, those guys, you just see how relentless their pursuit is, and I just want to be like them. l want to be my own player, but I like the traits they have, and I want to implement them in my game."
Florida Producing Top End NFL Talent
As a native Floridian, Jacas hails from one of the top college and pro player-producing states in the country.
According to Pro Football Reference, Florida ranks third, behind only Texas and California, when it comes to producing NFL players. Last season, there were 238 active players on NFL rosters who were born in Florida; 27 of whom were Pro Bowlers. So the Sunshine State doesn't just produce players, it produces great ones.
The Texas-California-Florida trio of states consistently ranks at the top of this list, year over year (with Georgia coming on as an emerging #4). These are all states with large populations, strong high school football traditions, and of course, warm weather.
"Something different in that water, down south? I don't know," Jacas responded, when asked about this phenomenon.
The current Illini roster contains 15 players from the state of Florida, as Head Coach Bret Bielema has done a fantastic job recruiting the state.
Jacas has racked up a lot of accolades during his three years in college, including freshman All-American and All-Big Ten Third Team.
But if he can push through and reach an even higher level this season, then there is a chance he could claim (depending on how the coaching staff utilizes him/what his position designation is) at least one of the following honors in 2025:
Ted Hendricks Award (Best Defensive End), Dick Butkus Award (Best Linebacker), Chuck Bednarik Award (Defensive Player of the Year) and Lombardi Award (Best Overall Lineman).
To get into this rarified air, one must have that "want to," a level of motivation that resides on a higher plane. Jacas has this kind of drive, and then some.
He articulated his ambitions for 2025, describing what he's trying to improve upon, in order to level up:
"Just being efficient with my hands, (in the way that I) attack the tackles, just having a move in mind at all times, and being proactive on the field, having that motor.
"A lot of the great pass rushers, they have a good motor, and that's something I would like to add to my game."
Big Ten Media Days takes place in Las Vegas this week, with Illinois participating on the first of the three days. The Illini will open their season on Friday, Aug. 29, at home against the Leathernecks of Western Illinois.
