CHAMPAIGN, Ill. — Throughout the first four games, it is no secret that the Illini secondary has been ravaged by injuries. While none hurt as much as All-Big Ten defensive back Xavier Scott’s lower body
injury that will keep him sidelined for a majority of the rest of the season, the Illini needed all the help they can get. They needed some juice.
Insert Jaheim “Juice” Clarke. And believe it, he lives up to his nickname.
“I think I have ADHD,” Clarke said with a laugh. “I don’t know if I do, but I definitley have a screw or two loose. I just be hyped, I just be talking to myself, I be bring the juice.”
Clarke, a junior corner from Fort Myers, Fla., missed the Illini’s first four games of the season with a hamstring injury. While only starting one game in 2024, he was poised to be pushed into the starting role of CB2 for the 2025. Then came the injury, that look longer than expected to fully heal.
“When it happened, I thought it was gonna be like two or three weeks,” Clarke said. “I ended up tweaking it again, the scar tissue. It was a minor setback. I kept on praying and kept on being focused.”
Clarke made his season debut when Illinois needed him the most, after the announcement of Scott’s surgery.
USC, known for their high-scoring offense, was looking to pick apart the depleted Illini secondary as much as possible. But on the first drive, Clarke made his mark.
With the Trojans driving into Illinois territory, Leon Lowry Jr. punched the ball out of running back Waymond Jordan’s hand, and Clarke was there to recover. The turnover set up the first points of the day for Illini.
“It felt really great to get back out there with my team,” Clarke said. “The mentality, having a strong mindest, and just going out there and playing hard every snap.”
And although Illinois came out with the last second 34-32 win over the Trojans, Clarke was not pleased with his own performance, that saw him break up a pass and register three tackles.
“To me, not that good. The standard is high inside of our room,” the defensive back said. “For me to keep going, I feel like I left a lot of plays out there on the field. I could definitely step it up and take it to the next level.”
Illinois will be happy to have Clarke back, and will look to rely on him to become the number one corner on the team. And if the team has high standards, his will be even higher.
“We DBs are never going to have our best game,” Clarke said. “There is a lot we can correct, and a lot to learn from.”
