James Kreutz holds the MLB · Starter spot in Illinois Fighting Illini’s linebacker room. Where he sits among the room’s front-line roles:

James Kreutz, a 6'2" linebacker from Bannockburn, Illinois, is a returning redshirt senior for Illinois. A three-star recruit in the 2022 class, Kreutz made his first career tackle at Indiana on September 22, 2022, and recorded his initial multi-tackle game against Toledo the following year. In 2024 as a sophomore, he appeared in all 13 games with four starts and registered 26 solo tackles among 55 total. During the 2025 season, Kreutz played in all 12 games with one start, accumulating 30 total tackles with 15 solo and 3.5 tackles for loss, tying for fifth on the team in that category. He added three pass breakups across the season.

Illinois2022 — present