2025 Football Roster

March 11, 2025, Evanston, IL: Members of the Northwestern Football team practice at Wilson Field at Ryan Fieldhouse in Evanston, IL on Tuesday, March 11, 2025. (Photo by Griffin Quinn/Northwestern Athletics)
Photo by: GRIFFIN QUINN/Northwestern Athletics
February 14, 2025, Evanston, IL: Members of the Northwestern Football team workout as part of Winning Edge at Wilson Field at Ryan Fieldhouse in Evanston, IL on Friday, February 14, 2025. (Photo by Griffin Quinn/Northwestern Athletics)
Photo by: GRIFFIN QUINN/Northwestern Athletics
July 21, 2025, Evanston, IL: Members of the Northwestern Football team pose for photos as part of Internal Media Days at Walter Athletics Center in Evanston, IL on Monday, July 21, 2025. (Photo by Ryan Kuttler/Northwestern Athletics)
Jersey Number 14

Yannis Karlaftis

  • Height:
    6-3
  • Weight:
    235
  • Position:
    LB
  • Class:
    Graduate Student
  • Hometown:
    Athens, Greece
  • High School:
    West Lafayette HS (Ind.)
  • Prev School:
    Purdue
2024 Redshirt Junior (at Purdue):
Played in all 12 games and made four starts … Earned 57 tackles, 1.5 tackles for loss, 0.5 sacks and a pass breakup … Finished third on the team in tackles … Had a season-high eight tackles three times, against Nebraska (9/28), Oregon (9/18) and Northwestern (11/2) … Had a solo tackle for loss vs. Oregon (10/18) … Ended the season with seven tackles and a half-sack at Indiana (11/30) … Named Academic All-Big Ten.
 
2023 Redshirt Sophomore (at Purdue):
Appeared in all 12 games with eight starts … Made the fourth most tackles on the team with 55 total, including 28 solo stops … Set a career-high with a team-best nine tackles against Ohio State (10/14) … Totaled 2.5 sacks for 13 yards on the season … Had one fumble recovery against Ohio State (10/14) … Racked up eight tackles in games against Illinois (9/30) and Nebraska (10/28).
 
2022 Redshirt First-Year (at Purdue):
Appeared in nine games, seeing action on both defense and special teams … Recorded four total tackles, including two solo stops … Had a half sack against Indiana State (9/10) … Made a season-high two tackles in games against Indiana State (9/10) and Northwestern (11/19).
 
2021 First-Year (at Purdue):
Appeared in four games … Made collegiate debut with a tackle against UConn (9/11) … Redshirted.
 
High School:
Four-star recruit by 247Sports … No. 16-ranked outside linebacker and No. 3-ranked recruit overall in Indiana by 247Sports … Four-star recruit by ESPN … No. 26-ranked outside linebacker, No. 2-ranked recruit overall in Indiana and No. 24 in the region by ESPN … Four-star recruit by Rivals … No. 186-ranked overall recruit, No. 14-ranked outside linebacker and No. 3-ranked recruit overall in Indiana by Rivals … In four years, totaled 241 tackles, 134 solo, with 23.0 tackles for loss and 2.0 sacks to go along with seven interceptions, four forced fumbles and seven fumble recoveries, according to MaxPreps … Helped West Lafayette HS to an 8-2 mark in 2020 and a 4-0 record in the Hoosier-West Conference.
 
Personal:
Graduated with an undergraduate degree in selling & sales management from Purdue …. Parent(s): Matthew and Amy Karlaftis … Sibling(s): Annie, Nicko, and George … George was an All-American defensive end at Purdue and was drafted in the first round of the 2022 NFL Draft by the Kansas City Chiefs … His father, Matthew, threw javelin and played football at the University of Miami … Born in Athens, Greece.
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