The Illinois football program has had some pretty talented defensive backs come through the program in the past 20 years.
No matter how good or bad the Illini program is, defensive backs have always seemed to shine bright in Champaign. From Vontae Davis to Clayton Fejedelem to Devon Witherspoon, defensive backs are grown and developed in the Illinois football program.
Nate Hobbs is one of the most talented defensive backs to come out of the Illini program. If you go by his recruiting ranking, Hobbs wasn’t supposed to be anything special at the college level.
Despite Hobbs being a three-star recruit who was ranked as the No. 1716 player in the class of 2017, he proved doubters wrong at every turn. He was offered a big-time scholarship to Illinois. He played four seasons at the college level and impressed NFL teams enough to be selected in the fifth round of the 2021 NFL Draft by the Las Vegas Raiders.
Hobbs impressing people hasn’t stopped since joining the Raiders either. In four seasons, he has started 32 games and just set a mark no one has seen in quite some time.
On Sunday, the Raiders PR social media account posted that Hobbs has 230 career tackles, and he becomes the first Raiders cornerback, since 1987, to reach that mark in his first four NFL seasons.
The Raiders PR social media account then quote posted and said that Hobbs is the first cornerback in the NFL, since at least 1987, to reach 230 career tackles in his first 41 games.
CB Nate Hobbs (@based_nvte) is the first cornerback in the NFL since at least 1987 to reach 230 career tackles in his first 41 career games. https://t.co/C4k2PIgXm5
— Raiders PR (@RAIDERS_PR) September 8, 2024
Illinois football has been a defensive back factory over the last 20 years, and Nate Hobbs is setting the bar
That stat is pretty crazy if you think about it. There have been so many great cornerbacks in the NFL, and the best among them when it comes to tackles is Hobbs. He takes the cake.
The number of defensive backs Illinois has put into the NFL is pretty astounding too. Hobbs is just one of the examples over the past five seasons. Just since COVID, Illinois has put players like Hobbs, Tony Adams, Kerby Joseph, Sydney Brown, Devon Witherspoon, and Quan Martin in the NFL. All six defensive backs are either starting or getting a ton of snaps too.
Don’t expect a trend downward anytime soon either. With the way Xavier Scott is playing, he might be gone after this season. He was an All-Big Ten honorable mention last year and this season, he has played like a first-team All-American.
Illinois is littered with great defensive back talent. If you are a defensive back at the high school level, I am not sure why you wouldn’t want to come to Champaign. We are a defensive back factory.