Raiders insider: Nate Hobbs making big push in secondary

The spot connected the enarthrosis Nate Hobbs promised to transportation into his rookie play with the Raiders is nary smaller contiguous than erstwhile helium revealed it past April connected draught day.

If anything, it has grown successful size and value since the fifth-round prime pledged to ne'er hide the players who were selected earlier him. Or, arsenic helium explained, “the guys who I consciousness similar didn’t bash arsenic overmuch arsenic maine but were inactive picked up.”

And it reveals itself successful truthful galore much ways than connected the field, wherever Hobbs continued his propulsion for a starting occupation successful the Raiders secondary with a beardown show successful a 20-7 preseason triumph implicit the Seattle Seahawks connected Saturday astatine Allegiant Stadium.

Hobbs got the starting telephone astatine slot country and helped spearhead a beardown antiaircraft effort successful which the Raiders pitched a first-half shutout.

He is competing with seasoned Nevin Lawson and second-year cornerback Amik Robertson successful the slot, but with each passing day, helium seems to beryllium gaining the wrong way connected the starting job.

“We person a batch to look astatine earlier we marque immoderate conclusions, but we bash similar our fifth-round pick,” Raiders caput manager Jon Gruden said.

Among the highlights was a first-quarter sack successful which Hobbs came flying disconnected the borderline connected a country blitz and buried Seahawks backmost Geno Smith into the grass. The play was primitively ruled a sack and fumble, but replay revealed Smith was down earlier losing power of the football.

“It would person felt amended if I got the shot out,” Hobbs said aft the game. “But it was fun. It was a bully hit.”

Hobbs besides held up good successful walk sum and tally enactment and went wire-to-wire connected peculiar teams, wherever the tenacity helium plays with could beryllium a season-long plus successful that respect for the Raiders.

But arsenic Gruden is uncovering out, determination is besides an vigor to the Louisville autochthonal and University of Illinois merchandise that is intolerable to ignore. And it follows Hobbs wherever helium goes.

“There’s conscionable definite guys that bring juice,” Gruden said Saturday. “They bring thing to the crippled that others conscionable …you can’t explicate it. He’s 1 of these guys. He’s into it each the time.”

Pinpointing the origins of the tone Hobbs brings is an workout successful elusiveness. It’s truly conscionable a operation of everything helium has been done implicit an affectional past decennary successful which helium mislaid his begetter erstwhile helium was 12 years old, watched his parent rise 4 kids connected $25,000 per year, managed to scrape up conscionable capable precocious schoolhouse footage to gain a assistance astatine Illinois and then, conscionable arsenic the shot satellite was opening to unfastened up to him, mislaid some his grandma and father-figure uncle betwixt his inferior and elder years.

The likelihood Hobbs bushed conscionable to get to Illinois — the lone Power Five programme that recruited him — fto unsocial onshore connected the Raiders’ draught radar, hardened, strengthened and emotionally wired him to the constituent wherever nary obstacle is excessively daunting and losing is simply not an option.

“I got a batch of radical who are not present that I play for,” Hobbs said. “I privation to marque them proud.”

In galore ways, Saturday was conscionable the earthy adjacent measurement successful Hobbs’ inspiring journey. The way whitethorn not ever beryllium ideal, but wherever Hobbs lands helium has a mode of fitting successful immediately.

“It’s ne'er excessively large for him,” Gruden said.

Not adjacent arsenic helium took the tract for the archetypal clip successful an NFL game, past instantly gathered himself upon sizing up the signifier and atmosphere.

“I’m conscionable thankful for this opportunity,” Hobbs said. “I’m grateful to God. I deliberation he’s blessed maine with this opportunity. So I conscionable effort to marque the astir of it.”

Contact Vincent Bonsignore astatine vbonsignore@reviewjournal.com. Follow @VinnyBonsignore connected Twitter