CHAMPAIGN, Ill. — Early last November, Illinois was playing its best football in years, fresh off a 38-10 win against Rutgers, which gave the Illini a 5-4 record on the season.
The defense was finally living up to its potential after being scrutinized many times for the playmaking-decisions head coach Lovie Smith was making.
Along with those strides as a team, junior linebacker Jake Hansen was named one of 12 semifinalists for the Dick Butkus Award.
“It’s a huge honor and trying to keep the linebacker U thing going,” Hansen said back on Nov.