Daniel Brown holds the JACK · Starter spot in Illinois Fighting Illini’s edge room. Where he sits among the room’s front-line roles:

Daniel Brown is a jack from Kansas City, Kansas, who attended Bishop Ward High School before playing at Hutchinson CC. At the junior college level, Brown earned 2023 NJCAA All-American First Team honors and Jayhawk Conference Defensive Player of the Year after leading the NJCAA with 18.0 sacks in 11 games. He transferred to Illinois and appeared in nine games during 2025, including two starts. Brown recorded 11 total tackles, four solo tackles, one pass breakup, and one quarterback hurry. He posted a career-high five tackles (two solo) in a start against #23 Tennessee on 12/30/25.