Illinois Football 2025 Scouting Report: Defensive Lineman Pat Farrell

Illinois on SI is delivering scouting reports for each of the key players on the Illini football team's 2025 roster. Below, we present our breakdown of Illini sophomore defensive lineman Pat Farrell. We will add more as other on-field contributors emerge during the season. Find our scouting reports of other Illinois players by searching in your favorite browser or clicking in our projected depth chart – coming soon.

Pat Farrell | Defensive lineman | Sophomore | No. 52

Hometown: Oak Lawn, IllinoisHigh school: St. RitaHeight: 6-foot-5Weight: 280 pounds

Scouting report

At 6-foot-5, 280 pounds, Farrell is the slimmest defensive lineman on the Illini roster – built more like a 4-3 end than a 3-4 edge – and thus may have a key athleticism advantage over many of the teammates he'll be jockeying for reps with at the position. Much of Illinois’ defensive front is built for power, so Farrell will have more competition for playing time on rushing downs, which often call for a block-absorbing 4-technique linemen.

But Farrell theoretically has an edge, so to speak, on third-and-long and other clear passing downs, when the Illini have traditionally tried to generate quarterback pressure with minimal blitzing – just the standard four pass rushers. If he can use his upfield skills to take advantage of the attention drawn by Gabe Jacas (and others), Farrell could help the Illini D level up from a decent pass-rushing group (31 sacks in 2024, sixth-most in the Big Ten) to an exceptional one.

Experience

In 2023, Farrell came to Illinois as an outside linebacker, then took a redshirt season for an extra year of development when he shifted to the defensive line. He appeared in all 13 games in 2024, entering the Illini rotation in 2024 and even earning a start. In limited reps, he collected four tackles, half a sack – which notably came against No. 9 Penn State – and a quarterback hurry.

Often playing on the edge as a high schooler at St. Rita – where Farrell was named the CCL Green Defensive MVP – he arrived in Champaign with good athleticism and ability to find outside angles to the passer for a defensive lineman. But he needed to add bulk (and likely still needs to add more) while maintaining his explosiveness and fluidity to evolve into the ideal edge in Illinois' scheme.

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