By the time the phone rang late Friday night during the second round of the NFL Draft, Gabe Jacas already felt the pull.

The New England Patriots had made it clear during the pre-draft process that they were serious. A Top-30 visit to Foxborough sealed it. The conversations felt different, more pointed and more challenging. When the Patriots traded up in the second round to select the Illinois edge rusher, Jacas felt both relief and affirmation.

"It was like a breath of fresh air," Jacas said. "Everything I worked up to this point paid off. But it doesn't stop here."

For a franchise looking to build off a Super Bowl appearance in 2025, Jacas represents a near-perfect fit. He fills an immediate need at edge rusher, but he also embodies the kind of player Vrabel and newly named defensive coordinator Zak Kuhr want on their defense.

"Very disruptive, very violent," Jacas said, describing his game in a post-draft conference call. "Someone that's very dependable, someone that's going to bring the energy and the juice to the team. And someone that is an all-out motor player. That's the player they can expect."

That description did not surprise those who coached him long before the NFL entered the conversation.

Mike Watkins, Jacas' high school head coach at Fort Pierce Central in Florida, remembers seeing something different almost immediately. Jacas was playing offensive line and wrestling when Watkins arrived, but his physical presence jumped out.

"He just looked different," Watkins said. "Great kid, infectious smile, but when you have to coach him hard, he takes well to that too."

Jacas' path was not straightforward. He was not a polished edge rusher early on. He switched positions in high school, moving from the offensive line to defense, while also immersing himself in the wrestling room. That combination helped define the style he plays with today.

Wrestling became foundational.

"I wrestled for four years in high school," Jacas said. "Leverage, hand usage, fighting… those all keyed into football."

Watkins saw that transformation firsthand. He recalls Jacas as a freshman wrestler who struggled early before deciding how badly he wanted it. Jacas became a two-time state champion, developing toughness and body control that later translated to pass rushing.

"You see Vrabel out there, getting physical… Gabe is exactly that," Watkins said. "He's not going to run around anybody. He'll run right through your face. He's going to test some people's souls."

Once Jacas committed fully to defense, the production followed immediately. In the season-opening game his junior year, Jacas recorded five sacks in the first half alone.

Illinois head coach Bret Bielema saw something similar when Jacas arrived in Champaign as an under-recruited prospect. According to Bielema, nobody else was really pursuing him when Illinois did. He did not stay hidden for long.

"He came in and played right away as a true freshman," Bielema said. "I knew within the first couple weeks he was going to be an NFL player."

Jacas made an immediate impact, becoming one of the most productive defenders on the roster. Over four seasons, he developed into a captain, a leader and a player offenses had to account for at all times.

As he blossomed, he developed a detailed approach. During his junior season, Bielema lined him up in five different spots against Michigan.

"He had a gameplan for each kid, and he knew in his head what he was going to go with," Bielema said. "That's something I learned from my time in New England, and he just had that gift."

Bielema briefly coached with the Patriots earlier in his career under Bill Belichick, and that influence filtered into how Jacas was taught. Patriots film was a regular presence in Illinois meeting rooms, shaping how defenders studied opponents and attacked protections.

He also worked with Joe Kim in his final season, a pass rush coach who spent 30 years in the NFL, including seven with the Patriots.

"That's why when they called, it just felt right," Jacas said of the Patriots. "I've been around their brand of football for years without realizing it."

The Patriots need for edge helped make the connection even stronger. With Vrabel constructing a defense built around pressure, toughness and accountability, Jacas' skill set matches what the organization is trying to become.

"Tough, smart, dependable," Jacas said. "That physicality you've got to bring every day. I think I have all those traits and those characteristics to make an impact, whatever it is."

Jacas shouldn't be confined to just one role in the NFL. His versatility at Illinois continued to grow over his four seasons, with an understanding of how to deconstruct offenses before the snap.

"He's just so high football intensity and IQ," Bielema said. "That's really unique for a player of his age."

That mental approach carried into the draft process. Jacas embraced the difficulty of Patriots evaluations during his visit, taking pride in the mental load and the way he was challenged in meetings.

"They try to make it hard on you on purpose," Jacas said. "I just love the challenge and I love how they go about things and who they are as a team, their identity."

Off the field, both Watkins and Jacas emphasized the same contrast. Jacas' demeanor away from football does not match the violence of his game.

"He's the nicest kid," Watkins said. "Treats everybody the same, whether you're the head coach or some nobody on the team."

That balance appears to align well with Vrabel's vision. Jacas believes his energy, approachability and work ethic will matter as much as his sacks.

"I'm just a people person, I get along with anybody," he said.

For Illinois, Jacas' loyalty also stood out. Despite NIL opportunities elsewhere, he stayed four years, believing in development over shortcuts.

"Illinois made me who I am," Jacas said. "It didn't feel right leaving."

Now, the next stage is set in Foxborough, where opportunity and expectation collide. The Patriots did not simply draft an edge rusher. They traded up for a tone-setter, a player whose path from wrestling mat to Big Ten captain reflects what this defense wants to be.

As Watkins put it, "He's a once in a lifetime kid."

In New England, Jacas now has the platform to prove it.