Game log · Week-by-week
2025 season · 3 games
| Wk | Opp | TKL | SOLO | TFL | SACK | INT | PD | Note |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Wk 2 | W 45-19@ Duke | 2 | 2 | 0.0 | 0.0 | — | 0 | |
| Wk 4 | L 10-63@ Indiana | 6 | 4 | 0.0 | 0.0 | — | 0 | Season-high 6 tackles |
| Wk 13 | L 10-27@ Wisconsin | 1 | 1 | 0.0 | 0.0 | — | 0 | |
| Total | 9 | 7 | 0.0 | 0.0 | — | 0 |
#20
Tyler Strain
Senior defensive back on Illinois's 2025 roster.
5′9″ · 195 lb · Fort Worth, TX
CFB Index 40 · #362 of 538 safetiesLow confidenceReturning to Illinois for 2026
CFB Index
A single number blending on-field production (an EPA-based value lane) with box-score output for this player's position.
0-100, scaled within each position's own cohort — not directly comparable across positions.
Recruiting
3★
CB recruit
No. 1535 nationally · Signed with Illinois
No college snaps yet.
His career numbers, season by seasonThe story
4 defensive back on Illinois's 2025 roster.
- Signed as a 3-star recruit to Illinois in 2021.
Tyler Strain
Moves between deep coverage and the slot. Fifth year in the Illinois secondary, same address the whole way. One game to point at: 6 tackles against Indiana — Week 4, 2025.
Low coverage — composed from the verified record.
- positional archetype classification
- seasons on the roster
- game log
His career
He was on the field for 5 seasons. That is rarer than it sounds.
2021
- Signed with Illinois3-star out of Pace
20253 games
- Entered the portal
Career arc
HS
Recruit
★★★
CFB
College
Illinois
NFL
NFL Draft
—
Coaching lineage · 2021–2025
1 coach2021–2025
Illinois
Played his entire career under Bret Bielema.
2025 snapshot
Season context · Team result + system
5 seasons under Bret Bielema — 37-26 over that span.
2021Illinois5-7HC: Bret Bielema · Run-leaning
2022Illinois8-5HC: Bret Bielema · Run-leaning
2023Illinois5-7HC: Bret Bielema · Balanced
2024Illinois10-3HC: Bret Bielema · Run-leaning, slow tempo
2025Illinois9-4HC: Bret Bielema · Run-leaning
Where this defender ranks vs the field
Box-score production percentiles vs the position cohort
Medium confidence
Concern: tackles (0th percentile).
Box-score production (7)
Percentiles are versus same-position peers with enough snaps this season, based on box-score production. There are no play-by-play efficiency bars here: CFBD's play-value model credits offensive players only, so no defensive EPA exists to rank.
Splits & context
Splits · Per-game
2025 season · 3 games
Home vs Road
| TKL/g | TFL/g | SACK/g | PD/g | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Road3g | 3.0 | 0.0 | 0.0 | 0.0 |
First half vs Second half
| TKL/g | TFL/g | SACK/g | PD/g | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Weeks 1-72g | 4.0 | 0.0 | 0.0 | 0.0 |
| Weeks 8+1g | 1.0 | 0.0 | 0.0 | 0.0 |
Supporting cast · Scheme
Staff and system around the player
Head Coach
Bret Bielema
Scheme reads (pass share, tempo, sack rate) need at least 3 team games — 2 games in so far.
Awards
Player standing · 2023
Rotational
Tackle volume for the position in rotation-piece range.
Recognition
Roster2-deepStarterRecognizedEliteApex
Production · CFB Index Score
40 · #362 of 538 safeties
Three-star recruit. Now #362 at the position.
Career stats
Game log
How he plays
Play style
Moves between deep coverage and the slot — the modern positionless DB.
CFB Index positional classification
2026 Outlook
Illinois
2026 Depth chart
Projected starter
Defensive back · Illinois
Returning around him
- 3 Illinois players drafted to NFL
- Transfer portal: -7 net (20 in / 27 out)
2026 Award watch
No preseason watch lists yet (most drop June 15 – July 15)
Illinois · Last season: 9-4 (AP #23) · Talent rank #51 · 2026 recruiting class #24
DNA match
Player DNA
Hybrid Nickel
Moves between deep coverage and the slot — the modern positionless DB.
S
His 2023 production profile sits closest to Jakeen Harris’s 2021 season.
Matches Jakeen on
Tackle volume
Class year
TFL rate
Differs from Jakeen on
Height (lower)
Not enough data yet for this comparison.
As a junior, his production profile tracks closest to Brylan Green's junior season at Liberty (2024).
84%match
All-Conference USA
Matches Brylan on
Class year
Tackle volume
TFL rate
Stats from CFBD · ESPN · fan discourse. Every figure computed from source tables — not invented. Methodology