It is going to be tough for the Illinois football program to replace someone like Gabe Jacas.
Jacas was an All-Big Ten outside linebacker. He had so many great Illini moments during his career of terrorizing the conference with his 183 tackles, 35.5 tackles for loss, and 27.0 sacks during his time in Champaign.
Bret Bielema is going to try to replace that production on the roster next season and into the future. It is going to be hard, though. I think a great option for the future is someone like Aidan O’Neil.
O’Neil took to social media on Monday to announce that he has locked in an official visit with Illinois. This is a massive visit for the program, as this kid is one of the premier players in high school.
Extremely excited to get back out to Champaign this spring! Locked in my Official visit!@artursitkowski4 @BretBielema @CoAcHKeLZZz3 pic.twitter.com/V68YEmurmU
— 4⭐️ Aidan ONeil (@aidan_oneil1) February 23, 2026
The 6-foot-5, 240-pound EDGE from New Jersey is rated as a four-star recruit and ranked as the No. 239 player in the class of 2027. O’Neil is also the No. 22 EDGE in the country and the No. 4 player coming out of New Jersey.
This is a pretty big deal for the Illini. It is not like O’Neil is an okay player who has a bunch of MAC offers, and Illinois is clearly the lead dog. This kid has roughly 29 scholarship offers, and they are all from massive programs. Illinois is getting one of his official visits, and we have to show out.
It is going to be interesting to see what the Illinois football program does with the outside linebacker position
When Illinois recruits EDGE players, it usually means they are going to transition into outside linebackers who can rush the quarterback and play both on the line and drop back into coverage.
With Jacas leaving, Illinois doesn’t have any sure-fire outside linebackers for 2026. That also means the 2027 campaign is also a big question mark.
I am also curious how new defensive coordinator Bobby Hauck is going to use the defense. I know it will be a 3-3-5, but will he have two outside linebackers playing more up on the line of scrimmage, or will he have them more in coverage?
All I know is that O’Neil is a great option for the Illini in 2027 and beyond. We will need bodies at the outside linebacker position, and this kid would fit perfectly.