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CHAMPAIGN, Ill. – For at least a few more days, Bret Bielema and his coaching staff can operate with a cloud of mystery hanging over his team.
On Saturday, the pattern, depth chart and rotation will all be revealed starting at noon, when Illinois host Nebraska in a week zero game. Illinois head coach Bielema said on Monday there would be no public depth chart – not a new trend, especially around the Illini program after the Lovie Smith era – to protect the secret of what he and his coaching staff have had since Bielema was hired in December.
The training camp was largely closed to the media, with the exception of 15-20 minute portions of individual exercises. The only time anyone has seen this team do something that looks like 11v11 football is in a spring scrimmage.
“Regarding the status of our players, we are not going to publish a depth chart since I know I made the comment, obviously, a few weeks ago,” Bielema said. “Only about half the league is going to post a depth chart and we’re going to be in the half that doesn’t. Right before this game, what we’re able to do and how we can do it, I think it’s in our best interests to kind of stay on neutral.
There are a lot of reasonable assumptions to be made about the starters, especially since there are 22 super seniors back at the time. Bielema, unsurprisingly, has officially named Brandon Peters starting quarterback.
Here is Illini Inquirer’s prediction for the depth chart:
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