Saturday was a special day for Illini football as the Bret Bielema era began with a 1-0 start, but the day meant a little more to senior Jamal Woods.
When former Illinois student-athlete Bobby Roundtree passed away in July, the Illini knew they wanted to honor him during the season, starting with the first game. The Illini decided on having a player close to Roundtree run out a "97Strong" flag to lead the team out onto the field.
Woods, who refers to Roundtree as a best friend and a brother, was selected to carry the flag for the Illini's first game.
"It was an honor," Woods said. "We know what Bobby left on this Earth for all of us. He was a huge person in this football program. Just for me to be able to run out with the 97 Strong flag hit home. I was very grateful to do it. It was something we'd been talking about for awhile and we want to try and get a guy out there maybe every week that was very close to him and he knew personally."
To carry out the flag, then get the season-opening win made everything that much sweeter for Woods, who dedicated the game to Roundtree. Â
Roundtree, who was a star and leader on the football field, first taught the Illini how to battle adversity within the game of football. But after the accident, he showed the team how to handle challenges in life. Woods believes Roundtree would've been proud of how the Illini "never gave up" on Saturday.
"Once he had the accident, I wouldn't see too many people that would fight harder than he was," Woods said. "He showed the world that he was not going to give up. He kept goin every day. Tragedy happened but with Bobby, he was going to work. That's what the team gotta do. We're gonna face adversity every game, but it's about how we respond to it and (Saturday) we responded well to it."
Honoring Roundtree is something that will be ongoing for the Illini and his closest friends on the team. But for now, Woods is just happy he and his team were able to carry his legacy on this season.
"When the accident happened, a lot of guys were sad," Woods said. "As we continued on through life we had to think about what would Bobby be like on this Earth right now? He would be excited; he would bring the juice to the team and that's what we've gotta do. We gotta keep carrying on that tradition that he left for us. Just for us to be able to honor his name was very great for us."
97Strong T-Shirts Available
Gameday Spirit in Champaign has re-released its 97Strong t-shirts in their stores and online. A portion of every sale will go back to the family.Â
