Jalan Gaines, in his first season as Illinois State’s Jack linebacker, has produced 5.5 sacks, nine tackles for loss and 59 total tackles for the Redbirds. (Photo by GoRedbirds.com)
By Barry Bottino
Jalan Gaines played his first college football game in a stadium that seats 4,000 people and sits less than three miles from the Mississippi River.
Now in his second season at Illinois State, Gaines has played in bigger stadiums, big games and, this fall, is filling some might big shoes for the Redbirds.
As the team’s new Jack linebacker, the junior has taken over at the position from Zeke Vandenburgh, who was named the nation’s best defender in FCS last season.
“I’m glad that I was able to sit behind him and just learn so much from him to be able to prepare me for this season,” said Gaines, a junior from Oak Lawn, a south suburb of Chicago.
Along with learning the finer points of football, Gaines is also gathering life lessons as a new father. His daughter Kamiyah’s first birthday is Nov. 8.
In our Moving the Chains Q&A, Gaines talks about family, starting his career in Division III, who would be the team’s most reliable babysitter, what his perfect Thanksgiving feast includes, and the man he feels is the unsung hero in the ISU football program.
Your football career started at NCAA Division III Dubuque. How would you describe your path to ISU?
It was a long transition coming from D-III to Division I (FCS). I had to walk on here at Illinois State last year. Then Coach Spack gave me a great opportunity to earn my spot and earn a scholarship. I’m very grateful for that opportunity. It involved a lot of hard work and a lot of time put in.
How are you a better player since coming to Illinois State?
One part of my game that I’d say has improved the most would be against the run game. I’m not 100% where I want to be yet, but I have improved from my first year until now.
What do you appreciate about the journey of your career?
I appreciate that I can use my journey to help other people know that it’s OK to not go to a big school out of high school. As long as you’re able to put in the hard work and the dedication, and you’re willing to bet on yourself, anything is possible. But it’s not easy.
Playing Jack linebacker, you are replacing Zeke Vandenburgh, who won the Buck Buchanan Award last year. What lessons did you learn from Zeke?
I learned a lot from Zeke, even though I sat behind him for only one year. He put in a lot of hard work to get where he was at. He spent countless hours watching film, working on his pass rush, working on dropping back (in coverage), all those things. Being able to sit back and watch for one season had a great impact on me. It showed me that I’m a hard worker, but I need to put in 10 times the amount of work if I want to be as good as Zeke is.
What three words or phrases would you use to describe yourself?
Hard-working, family oriented and grateful.
Nov. 8, 2022, was a special day for you and your girlfriend, Payton, with the birth of your daughter, Kamiyah. How has being a father changed you?
It changed my life a lot. It made me understand that I have more in life than just myself. I have someone that’s looking up to me, somebody that I have to provide for. It’s a great feeling. It’s hard to explain. I’m so grateful to have her in my life. She’s definitely been a big part of why I try to work as hard as I can, just so I can make my daughter happy.
What did Kamiyah get for her birthday?
The most important thing we got for her is a necklace with a picture of me, Payton and Kamiyah and the date she was born. And. it has her name engraved on the back.
You mentioned that you’re a family man, so tell us about your family.
I’m from a big family, on both my mom and my dad’s side. I’m the oldest of five siblings, so I have to be the role model. Since I’ve been in college, my younger sister wanted to be like me and also enrolled in college. It’s important for me to set the stepping stones for my siblings so they can see whatever you want to do — as long as you put the hard work in — is possible.
Who is the one person on the team you would trust the most to babysit your daughter?
(Laughs) I’ve brought Kamiyah around the team a lot of times. The one person that’s probably seen her the most and would be OK with babysitting would be (fellow linebacker) Darrell Talley. Whenever she sees him, she always makes funny faces or tries to play with his face. She’d be pretty calm with him.
At Oak Lawn High School, you wore green and white. At Dubuque, you wore blue and white. Now at Illinois State, you’re wearing red and white. So, what’s your favorite color combination of all those?
I’m going to have to go with the red and white. The Redbirds have a nice color combination, and I like how we switch up the jersey combos. The colors are bright and they pop out. The favorite for me is the all-white jerseys (and pants). They look so good, the white jerseys with the red numbers popping out. I like that a lot.
What’s the best atmosphere you’ve played in as a college athlete?
It would be last year, the first game of the season when we traveled to Wisconsin. That’s the biggest stadium I’ve ever been in and the biggest amount of people that I’ve ever had watch a game (that I played in). Even though I didn’t get that many snaps, it was so cool to be in that environment with my teammates.
Is there a rival school from your days at Oak Lawn High School that you still can’t stand?
It would have to be the Richards Bulldogs. They were our down the street rival (8 miles away across town). I’m not going to lie. They beat us most of the time, but I still can’t get that taste out of my mouth. I have a few buddies that played for Richards. Those Bulldogs … I just hated seeing those guys. (Laughs)
Do you consider yourself a trash talker?
Not really. I try to treat everybody with respect. I just focus on my assignment and on making a play. I don’t really focus much on trash talking other people.
Have you ever encountered a funny piece of trash talk with an opponent?
I don’t really pay attention to it. But one thing that happened when we played Northern Iowa, one of the tight ends ripped my shirt and he said, ‘Oh, my bad 50. I didn’t mean to do it.’ That was kind of funny to me. But I mostly try to tone out the trash talking.
With Thanksgiving coming up, describe your perfect plate of food for the holiday.
Oh man, I need turkey, ham, mac and cheese. I need my vegetables — my greens, my green beans. Mashed potatoes, gravy. I like to put everything on the plate and then just go to town. I load it up. (Laughs)
Who are you most thankful for in your life right now?
I’m most thankful for my parents — my mother, Chiquina Burgess, and my father, Taji Gaines. I honestly believe that I got my hard work trait from them. Just seeing them work so hard to provide for my siblings really made me want to do the same thing in every aspect of my life. If I’m not working as hard as I can in everything that I do, then what’s the point of doing it?
Who is an unsung hero in the Illinois State football program?
Everybody in the organization knows about him, but outside of it, it’s my guy Holden Boyle, who is director of football operations. He deals with a lot of stuff. Holden makes sure that a lot of things are good for the players and the football program.
What is your major and what would be a dream job after football?
I’m a communications major, and I want to get into sports broadcasting and be an analyst. I can find myself talking about sports pretty much all day, then watching those sports take shows on TV. I could see myself doing that. I like First Take with Stephen A. Smith and all those guys.
What are your favorite sports or teams to talk about?
I’m a huge Bulls and Bears fan, but there’s not really much to debate. (Laughs) I’m a White Sox fan too. I like to debate who’s the best pass rusher in the NFL right now. I like keying in on all those little details on each guy.
We are passing you the microphone, Jalan. Who are your top three NFL pass rushers?
My top three would be Micah Parsons (Dallas Cowboys), T.J Watt (Pittsburgh Steelers) and I’ll throw Myles Garrett (Cleveland Browns) in there, too.
Do you have favorite food spots in Bloomington-Normal?
It would be Giordano’s. I’d also go with Portillo’s. I’m a big Italian beef guy.
Is there a restaurant from home that you wish was near ISU’s campus?
If I had to have a place added here, it would probably be Harold’s Chicken, for sure. Whenever I go back home, I make it an essential stop.
When you walk in the door at Harold’s, what’s your go-to order?
I get a 10-piece wing dinner with lemon pepper and mild sauce on everything.
If you’re having a bad day, who’s the one teammate who can always cheer you up?
Reese Edwards. (Laughs) He’s a really, really funny guy. He’s in my position group, two lockers in front of me. He’s definitely one of the funniest people on the team. He just makes stupid jokes. You could be having the worst day and he just comes in the locker room and says something crazy. It’s just those little things.
Barry Botino is a co-founder of Prairie State Pigskin and a 19-year veteran of three Illinois newspapers. He has covered college athletics since 1995.
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