“That just warmed my heart to know that my brother is not like down low,” Hobbs said. “He’s going to come out on top.”

The Illini is hoping to come out on top too. Illinois has had a tough go of it in recent years, but the roster is now loaded with some young players who are also experienced.

Hobbs wants his team to dominate.

“We don’t care who we’re playing,” he said. “We don’t care if it’s Penn State, Rutgers, Michigan. It doesn’t matter who it is. We’re going to compete and dominate. That’s what I want to do is dominate.”

The Illini may be better able to handle adversity when it hits just because of the added depth they have across the board.

“ A lot of what happened to us is when you lose some of your front-line players, there’s too much of a drop,” Smith said. “We’re in a better position with that. Even losing a player like Bobby, we have an excellent recruiting class coming in of defensive linemen.”

The Illini may just turn the tragic loss of Roundtree into a rallying cry this season. It could help bring the team together.

Roundtree’s injury combined with a couple of tough seasons may just help Illinois turn things around.