Illinois Football's Gabe Jacas Receives Big Preseason Honor From ESPN

Jacas was named as one of two preseason first-team All-American linebackers by ESPN’s Chris Low, along with Pittsburgh’s Kyle Louis. While Low pointed to Jacas’ dominance on the outside, he also touched on his versatility and overall impact regardless of his team's defensive look:

“Jacas is one of the most productive edge rushers in college football, but he makes game-changing plays no matter where he lines up,” said Low.

Despite Illinois returning 16 starters from last season, including star quarterback Luke Altmyer and top-notch defensive back Xavier Scott, Jacas was the only Illini featured on ESPN’s preseason All-American list. No other player on the roster was even named to the second team.

Aside from Jacas, the Illini don’t have a deep stockpile of surefire NFL-level talent (often necessary to earn All-American status). But the roster is stocked full of high-level college players – including Altmyer, Scott, defensive back Miles Scott and offensive lineman J.C. Davis.

Jacas’ impressive growth

Just a three-star recruit in the class of 2022, Jacas entered Champaign with minimal expectations – and immediately shattered them. In his freshman year, Jacas appeared in 13 games, racking up four sacks and 35 total tackles. He followed with a solid 2023 season in which he forced a fumble, broke up a pass and added another four sacks.

Now, on the heels of that tremendous 2024 campaign, Jacas appears poised to put together the best season by an Illinois linebacker since J Leman was a consensus All-American back in 2007.

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