Gabe Jacas

Gabe Jacas
	Jacas with Illinois in 2022
No. 17 – Illinois Fighting Illini
Position	Linebacker
Class	Junior
Personal information
Born	May 27, 2004 (age 21); Port St. Lucie, Florida, U.S.
Height	6 ft 3 in (1.91 m)
Weight	275 lb (125 kg)
Career information
High school	Fort Pierce Central; (Fort Pierce, Florida)
College	Illinois (2022–present);
Awards and highlights
	First-team All-Big Ten (2025); Third-team All-Big Ten (2024);
	Stats at ESPN

Gabe Jacas (born May 27, 2004) is an American college football outside linebacker for the Illinois Fighting Illini.

Early life

Jacas grew up in Port St. Lucie, Florida and attended Fort Pierce Central High School.^[1] In addition to playing football, he won two state titles in wrestling.^[2] Jacas was rated a three-star recruit and originally committed to play college football at Tulane during the summer before his senior year.^[3] He later flipped his commitment to Illinois after coach Bret Bielema received a tip from an area scout and offered him a scholarship.^[4]^[5]

College career

Jacas was named a starter at outside linebacker entering his freshman season with the Illinois Fighting Illini.^[6]

References

^ Richey, Scott (September 1, 2022). "Jacas putting physical advantage to use". The News-Gazette. Retrieved October 20, 2022.
^ Cooney, Bryan (March 6, 2022). "Central's Gabriel Jacas goes back-to-back as state wrestling champ". TCPalm. Retrieved October 20, 2022.
^ Cooney, Bryan (August 14, 2021). "Super 11, No. 3: Fort Pierce Central's Gabriel Jacas set for big year". TCPalm. Retrieved October 20, 2022.
^ Kimball, Anderson (September 17, 2022). "How a tip from a Florida coach landed Illinois an edge rusher in Gabe Jacas". The Pantagraph. Retrieved October 20, 2022.
^ Navarro, Manny (October 20, 2022). "The True Freshman Report: Illinois edge rusher has NFL scouts salivating, plus Oregon State RB to watch". The Athletic. Retrieved October 20, 2022.
^ Kimball, Anderson (September 22, 2022). "How a Gabe Jacas photo convinced Illinois football to recruit the freshman defender". St. Louis Post-Dispatch. Retrieved October 20, 2022.

External links

[1] Richey, Scott (September 1, 2022). "Jacas putting physical advantage to use". The News-Gazette. Retrieved October 20, 2022.

[2] Cooney, Bryan (March 6, 2022). "Central's Gabriel Jacas goes back-to-back as state wrestling champ". TCPalm. Retrieved October 20, 2022.

[3] Cooney, Bryan (August 14, 2021). "Super 11, No. 3: Fort Pierce Central's Gabriel Jacas set for big year". TCPalm. Retrieved October 20, 2022.

[4] Kimball, Anderson (September 17, 2022). "How a tip from a Florida coach landed Illinois an edge rusher in Gabe Jacas". The Pantagraph. Retrieved October 20, 2022.

[5] Navarro, Manny (October 20, 2022). "The True Freshman Report: Illinois edge rusher has NFL scouts salivating, plus Oregon State RB to watch". The Athletic. Retrieved October 20, 2022.

[6] Kimball, Anderson (September 22, 2022). "How a Gabe Jacas photo convinced Illinois football to recruit the freshman defender". St. Louis Post-Dispatch. Retrieved October 20, 2022.

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