Gabe Jacas

Gabe Jacas grew up in Port St. Lucie, Florida and attended Fort Pierce Central High School. In addition to football, he also won two titles in wrestling. Jacas was rated a three-star recruit and originally committed to play college football at Tulane during the summer before his senior year. He later flipped his commitment to Illinois after coach Bret Bielema received a tip from an area scout and offered him a scholarship. Jacas was named a Freshman All-American in his first collegiate season. He played in 13 games with eight starts at outside linebacker, collecting 35 tackles, five tackles for a loss and four sacks. The sophomore outside linebacker had another solid season in 2023. He played in all 12 games with 10 starts, 9 at outside linebacker and 1 at defensive line registering 31 tackles, four tackles for a loss, four sacks and one forced fumble. He was named All-Big Ten Third Team after a very productive 2024 season.