Gabe Jacas didn’t need a pile of snaps to make his first NFL game count.
The former Illinois linebacker, now with the New England Patriots, was on the field for only 19 plays against the Seattle Seahawks on Wednesday night in a rematch of the 2026 Super Bowl. Even with that limited workload, Jacas walked away with three tackles, one sack and two tackles for loss, tying for the team lead in both sacks and tackles for loss.
For a rookie debut, that’s the kind of line that jumps off the page. Jacas, the No. 55 overall pick in the 2026 NFL Draft, looked like he belonged from the start.
His performance also fit a bigger Illinois story that’s been building for years now. The last two seasons in Champaign produced 19 wins, but the 2025 season was a mild disappointment and the 2024 run was a wild ride of last-second finishes - a stretch Illinois fans won’t forget anytime soon. Still, neither team sat in the upper tier of the sport, and neither would have been in the College Football Playoff mix.
Bret Bielema deserves credit for what he’s done anyway. He has pulled Illinois out of the kind of irrelevance that once defined the program and pushed it into far better territory. It’s not powerhouse status yet, but it’s a real transformation.
And one of the clearest signs of that change is the way Illinois keeps sending players to the NFL.
Jacas is only the latest example. The Illini have become a steady source of secondary talent, with Devon Witherspoon having been the highest-paid cornerback in NFL history before Monday night, when Christian Gonzalez signed a new deal with the Patriots. Four other defensive backs from the Bielema era, including Kerby Joseph, are also on NFL rosters in 2026.
But Jacas showed on Wednesday that Illinois is producing more than just corners and safeties. The program has NFL-level talent at every level of the defense.
The offense has joined the pipeline too. Tommy DeVito is a top-notch backup quarterback for the Patriots, while Isaiah Williams with the New York Jets and Pat Bryant with the Denver Broncos have both pushed themselves toward the front of their receiver groups. Add in the four offensive linemen from the Bielema era currently on active rosters, plus tight end Tanner Arkin of the Patriots and running back Chase Brown of the Cincinnati Bengals, and Illinois could practically field its own NFL team.
That NFL track record matters because recruiting still has work to do under Bielema. This past cycle was a step in the right direction, but the broader sell is obvious: Champaign has become a place where players can develop into pros.
Bielema and his staff have built this mostly with three-star prospects. If Illinois starts landing more four-stars and the occasional five-star, the program could keep sending players to the league while also stacking more wins on Saturdays. The challenge now is making sure the recent momentum keeps growing, so recruits can see that both paths are possible in Champaign.
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Brad Underwoods Final Illinois Roster Move Says Plenty About His Priorities
Illinois added Quentin McCoy from Arizona State as its final roster move, and the fit says as much about Brad Underwoods approach as it does about the player himself. McCoy arrives with Division I experience, but the emphasis here is not on a big statistical profile or immediate role in the rotation. Underwood pointed to McCoys character and the value he can bring behind the scenes, a reminder that roster building in Champaign is about more than just filling minutes.
For a program that has leaned on toughness, depth and daily competition, McCoy looks like the kind of addition that helps shape practice as much as game day. Even with limited playing time in his previous college career, he gives Illinois another body in the gym and another voice in the room, which can matter over the grind of a season. The broader takeaway is clear: Underwood is still prioritizing the pieces that strengthen the program beyond the box score. [Read more 🡒]
Illinois Fans Are Back To Asking One Big Bret Bielema Question
Illinois football has gotten itself to a steadier place under Bret Bielema, with bowl appearances becoming the baseline instead of the exception. But the latest reminder that progress has limits came in a 31-27 loss to Duke, a game that fit a familiar pattern for Illinois lately: competitive enough to hang around, not quite sharp enough to finish.
Bobby Haucks new 3-3-5 defensive look has added another layer to the conversation, especially with the defense still searching for consistency after the change. That leaves the same question hovering over the program again: Bielema has clearly raised the floor in Champaign, but can he also lift Illinois into the kind of weekly contender that makes the Big Ten feel like home instead of a climb? [Read more 🡒]
Collin Dixon Just Gave Illinois A Breakout Fans Can Dream On
Collin Dixon has gone from promising target to weekly headline in a hurry, and Illinois had to like the way he kept climbing against Duke. By halftime, he had already caught three touchdown passes, tying the programs single-game record for receiving scores, while also piling up nine catches for 135 yards, both personal bests for the receiver.
The hot start only added to what he flashed the week before against UAB, when he finished with two touchdowns and 70 receiving yards. For an offense looking for reliable explosive plays, Dixon is giving the Illini something more than a one-off breakout, and now the question is how far this kind of pace can carry when defenses start building a plan around him. [Read more 🡒]