Is Joe Barna starting?
Joe Barna is the projected starter at DE for Illinois Fighting Illini.
Joe Barna is the projected starting DE on a Solid Illinois — 84 OVR.
See full Illinois Fighting Illini depth chart ›Depth at DE · Illinois Fighting Illini
- 14384Joe BarnaStarter
- 21775Isaiah Thomison
- 32474Will Holmes
- 45154Parker Crim
What's Next
The Story
Making His Case
A 3-star recruit out of Wheaton North, ranked #1,362 nationally coming out of high school. In 2025: 20 tackles, 2 TFL, 2 sacks. That's 4% of the team's production at his spot — good for a 84 overall (Good tier).
- Jersey
- #43
- Class
- JR
- Height
- 6'4"
- Weight
- 265 lbs
Career Stats
| Season | Tkl | TFL | Sacks |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2025 | 20 | 2 | 2 |
| 2024 | 15 | 1.5 | 1.5 |
Regular-season totals from public sources. Derived splits (completion %, yards per carry, catch rate) aren't available in our current dataset.
Recruiting Profile
- Stars
- ★★★☆☆3-star
- Composite
- 0.8567
- National Rank
- #1362
- High School
- Wheaton North
- Hometown
- Wheaton, IL
Why this rating?
On a 79-rated defense; 75th-percentile production (×0.92 for competition level) put them +5 vs unit starters → 84.
2026 projection — based on SP+ (a respected team-efficiency metric; 2026 not published yet, using 2025), 2025 production, recruiting, and the 2026 transfer portal; capped to depth-chart order.
2026 Game Log
Sep 12LDUKETKL 2
- TKL
- 2
- SOLO
- 0
- SACK
- 0
- INT
- 0
- PD
- 0
Final L 31-27
Sep 4WUABTKL 5
- TKL
- 5
- SOLO
- 1
- SACK
- 0
- INT
- 0
- PD
- 0
Final W 42-23
| OPP | ||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Sep 12 | LDUKE | 2 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| Sep 4 | WUAB | 5 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
Joe Barna's 2026 game-by-game stat log.
The People's Ratings
Team Role
Overall ratings blend team strength (SP+), on-field production, and recruiting. Higher = more impactful.