Friday Night Drive is highlighting some of the top returning players at each position for the 2026 IHSA football season. Here are 10 of the top defensive linemen to watch as the 2026 season approaches.

Former Kankakee and University of Missouri standout Keagen Trost, two weeks after appearing at the NFL Scouting Combine, is getting ready for his Missouri pro day and the final steps of preparation for the NFL Draft.

This spring, we at Friday Night Drive will start looking ahead to the fall with players we are keeping our eye on. Who are some of the top players to watch in 2026? We will start with the quarterbacks.

From aiding Illinois State’s run to the FCS National Championship game to earning spots on all-conference teams for the SEC and Big Ten, several Kankakee County area football figures made their mark on the 2025-26 college football season.

Take a look at the players selected for the 2025 Daily Journal All-Area Football Team.

Keagen Trost, a 2019 Kankakee graduate, was named a first-team All-SEC offensive lineman earlier this week after a standout season as Missouri's right tackle. His former Kays teammate Jyaire Hill and Manteno native Josh Gesky received All-Big Ten recognition.

One of the city's most successful seasons came to a collective end, Wilmington and Coal City marched on, and more in this week's Daily Journal 2-Minute Drill.

Despite a few dazzling plays from Cedric Terrell III to pull the Kays to within a field goal, Providence did enough down the stretch to earn a road win at Kankakee in the second round of the IHSA Class 5A playoffs Saturday.

Gallery

Providence Catholic defeated Kankakee 35-25 in the IHSA Class 5A second round playoffs on Saturday, Nov. 8, 2025.