By Mike Pearson
FightingIllini.com

Following in the footsteps of his father, Fighting Illini junior Jake Hansen was predestined to be a great linebacker.

Jake's dad—Shad Hansen—was an all-star 'backer at Brigham Young University, playing for legendary coach LaVell Edwards from 1989-92. Shad racked up huge numbers, collecting 341 career tackles and 193 in 1991 alone, both school records.

But Shad, now the Senior Vice President of Hardware and Latin American Sales for Milwaukee Electric Tool Corporation, didn't brag about his past glory as a college football star. In fact, it wasn't until Jake was nearly a teenager that he discovered what his dad had achieved as an athlete.

"One day, one of the school principals mentioned to me what my dad had done at BYU," Jake said. "I had no idea he even played because he never told me anything about it."

Starting in third grade, Jake began his career on the gridiron. Dad was his coach, but he wasn't about to abuse his power, so Jake began as a center.

"I didn't want to be the head coach that was the dad that played his kid at running back or quarterback," Shad admitted.

Jake did also play linebacker, though, and excelled at that position. His talent continued to blossom when he got to East Lake High School in Tarpon Springs, Florida, earning all-state second-team honors. He originally pledged his future to Iowa State, but de-committed when a Cyclone coaching change took place. Illinois took advantage of the situation and Bill Cubit's staff signed Hansen in February of 2016.

"When we found out a month later that Lovie Smith was going to be the coach, that was awesome news," Shad Hansen said. "When you're a defensive player—especially a linebacker—there's no better person to play for than Lovie. From Jake's perspective, it was like hitting the lottery."

Jake saw action in all 12 games that freshman year at Illinois, but his life temporarily spiraled downward the following August when he suffered a season-ending knee injury in fall camp.

"I'm not a very patient person," Hansen said, "so I had to wait for my time. It gave me a chance to see the game from a different perspective."

After months of therapy, Hansen finally got back on the field and his second chance came on September 1, 2018, against Kent State. It turned out to be a legendary performance, totaling a school-record-tying six tackles for loss among his 15 stops. He was named Big Ten Co-Defensive Player of the Week.

"It was one of the most fun times I've had playing football," he said. "I wasn't really thinking about the stats. I just remember it was a lot of fun."

By the end of the 2018 campaign, Hansen had amassed 95 tackles, tying him for the team lead with Del'Shawn Phillips and earning him the Bruce Capel Award for courage, dedication and accomplishment.

Hansen gives partial credit for his success to his dad.

Jake (left) had linebacking in his blood as his father, Shad, (right) was a star LB at BYU from 1989-92.  

"Me and my dad are always talking ball," Jake said. "We talk about techniques. He was a good linebacker himself in college, so I like to take his tips. Especially in high school, he helped me out a lot, teaching me how to shed blocks and playing against O linemen."

Illinois football's royal legacy of linebackers is readily identifiable through the jersey numbers worn by its greatest stars. Number 50, of course, belonged to the incomparable Dick Butkus, the standard by whom linebackers are measured. Coincidentally, 50 also was the number Shad Hansen wore at BYU.

Lovie Smith says Jake Hansen has a chance to be the school's next great linebacker.

"Butkus, Howard, Holecek, Hardy … there's a long list of players," Smith said. "We talk about that with our players. We want them to know who has manned their position on the field through the years and that there's an expectation for linebackers to play well. That's what we're shooting for with Jake. We want people to someday talk about him the same way that they've talked about the others from our past."

At 6-1, 230 pounds, don't ever suggest to Lovie Smith that Jake Hansen is an "overachiever".

"To me, an overachiever is a guy who doesn't have any talent and plays pretty good," Smith said. "I think Jake is very good football player. He's a smart player who plays the run well and is a student of the game. He can play in coverage, he guards tight ends well, he used his hands well, and he also has good hands in catching the football. The next part of his game will be interceptions. Jake's not going to run 4.3 or anything like that, but most linebackers don't. He is a good football player, period, and we're expecting good things from him."

With Phillips having graduated, Hansen will be joined at linebacker by a group of players that includes senior Dele Harding, Washington Huskies transfer Milo Eifler, and sophomores Delano Ware and Khalan Tolson expected to be in the rotation, along with some incoming freshmen in the mix as well.

"This past spring, (defensive) leadership was on a new level," Hansen says. "We're holding guys accountable a lot more and the level of knowledge is also a lot higher."

Hansen says that's due to the expertise of Lovie Smith.

"He is a defensive genius," Hansen said. "He was in the NFL, so he knows what it takes to get to that next level. Learning from someone like him on an everyday basis is a blessing."