Illinois Football: 5 Illini players who benefit the most from a fall season
5. Jake Hansen
You don’t have to be the biggest, fastest, or strongest to be a leader on a football team. Jake Hansen is none of those, but I would take him on my team every day because of what he brings to the program.
Hansen, a 6-foot-1, 230-pound linebacker coming out of East Lake High School in Florida, was overlooked by many programs entering the college ranks. With a couple of handfuls of teams vying for the talented linebacker, Hansen would eventually flip a commitment from Iowa State to Illinois.
From day one, I have loved having Hansen on the Illinois football team. The fact he stayed committed to the program even after the Illini switched head coaches meant a lot to this Illini fanbase. Hansen’s game has been sensational too.
As a true freshman, Hansen played in every game and started one contest at linebacker. An injury derailed his sophomore season, so the talented linebacker took a redshirt. Hansen started every game in 2018 at linebacker and the first nine games in 2019 at the same position. An injury did hamper the end of last season, though.
95 tackles in 2018 and 72 tackles and 3.5 sacks in 2019 has really put Hansen in the spotlight as one of the best Illinois defensive players. While I am not sure Hansen will get selected in the NFL Draft in 2021 because of his size, having the season in the fall will only help his draft stock.
Next. Projected lineup if Jordan Nesbitt picks Illini. dark
NFL teams will get a better look at Hansen in the fall and then be able to bring in him for visits in the spring and summer. Even if Hansen doesn’t get picked, he will get noticed a lot more and will sign as a priority free agent. The kid reminds me a lot of Nick Kwiatkoski of the Las Vegas Raiders and formerly of the Chicago Bears. He is tough and will be the heart and soul of any defense.