TAMPA, Fla. — Former Largo (Fla.) High multi-sport standout Bobby Roundtree, whose football career at the University of Illinois was cut short by a 2019 swimming accident that left him partially paralyzed, died Friday.
An honorable mention all-Big Ten selection in 2018, Roundtree was 23. Only four days ago, he had tweeted a short video clip showing him being helped to his feet during an apparent physical-therapy session.
“There are no words to adequately express the sadness in my heart,” Illinois athletic director Josh Whitman said via Twitter.
“In the face of unspeakable adversity and hardship, Bobby brought life and optimism to every room he entered. He was a warrior, a leader, and an inspiration to all. I will never forget him. Love you, 97.”
Roundtree, who started 20 of his 24 career games at Illinois, was a second-team selection on the Tampa Bay Times’ all-Tampa Bay squad (Hernando, Hillsborough, Pasco and Pinellas counties) as a Largo senior in 2016.
As a junior, the man-child affectionately known as “Tree” helped guide the Packers basketball team to the Class 6A state finals as a 6-foot-5, 270-pound rebounding force. Amid his athletic feats, he maintained a 3.0 GPA.
“Playful, fun-loving, and really loved people. I mean, he was everybody’s friend,” said Packers basketball coach Phil Price, whose state tournament roster featured four eventual Division I-A football players.
“In high school, he’d protect the other kids from being bullied; of course he could do that, he was big enough. He was just a great spirit. It’s incredibly sad.”
Zhahidi Robinson, a football and basketball teammate of Roundtree at Largo, said his longtime friend retained his positive energy and playful nature even after his accident.
“There was no bad energy around Bobby,” said Robinson, who now plays basketball at Southwestern College, an NAIA program in Winfield, Kan.
“It’s definitely a shock because I thought the way he worked, his work ethic, I thought he was going to bounce back.”
Eight months before his accident, Roundtree had totaled five tackles and two pass breakups in a 25-19 loss to USF at Soldier Field in Chicago. That performance would set the tone for a prosperous sophomore season in which he led the Illini in tackles for loss (12.5), sacks (7.5) and pass breakups (seven).
But on the evening of May 18, 2019, Roundtree was among a group jumping off boats into the water in the Intracoastal Waterway near John’s Pass in Madeira Beach. Roundtree attempted a jump after the tide went out and the water shallowed, according to an in-depth interview he did last November with the Chicago Sun-Times.
The injury left him with use of his upper body, but not his legs or fingers. A civil lawsuit was brought by Roundtree in Pinellas County, according to the Sun-Times.
“I do get jealous, but that just makes me want to go hard again,” Roundtree told the Sun-Times. “Everything that I like and want to do, it just makes me want to go harder. I try not to talk about it a lot, don’t put my head there. It doesn’t make me sad or anything. I just try to stay sane and hungry.”
Any evidence of a setback in Roundtree’s attempts to regain his mobility were nonexistent. On Thursday evening, he had tweeted the message, "Stay humble and keep ELEVATING."
“With the situation that happened, him being in that wheelchair, he was still the same guy,” Robinson said. “Spiritually, he was the same guy.”
