Illinois Football: Lovie Continues to Build Defense with Nathan Hobbs
The Illinois football team has an impressive lineup of offensive players coming in from the class of 2017.
This group of offensive players will help generate points and win games for the Illini in the near future.
But, one of my biggest worries was on the defensive side of the ball. There weren’t a lot of defensive players committing for 2017.
Over the last two weeks, Lovie Smith and the Illinois coaching staff has really put those worries to rest as they have had a rush of commitments.
Junior college linebacker Del’Shawn Phillips committed on December 14. He is going to be a nice plug and play for the next two years.
On December 22, the Illini received a big commitment from Kendrick Green. He is going to be one of the main staples in the middle of the Illini defensive line for years to come.
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And yesterday another player committed that will be important for the Illinois defense in the future.
Nathan Hobbs decided to flip his commitment from Western Kentucky and picked the Illini. He originally committed to the Hilltoppers back on November 2 but then decommitted and selected Champaign as his new home.
Hobbs is a 6-foot, 170-pound, cornerback out of Louisville, Kentucky. He is only listed as a two-star recruit, but if he didn’t have potential then I don’t think Lovie would be recruiting him.
There are a lot of things that I think Hobbs does really well.
The first thing I notice is his speed on the field. Hobbs can fly at cornerback and that will benefit him when he needs to keep up with a wide receiver or if he needs to break on a ball quickly.
Another area Hobbs excels at is breaking to the ball. He can read the quarterback’s eyes and break on the ball to get a great interception or break up a pass.
It also looks like Hobbs can play well in multiple roles. If Hardy Nickerson and Lovie asks him to play press coverage or zone then he can play both.
Hobbs is a versatile player that will be a big-time asset for the Illini in the future. I can’t wait to see who is next for this class of 2017.
