‘I’m trying to be good now’

CHAMPAIGN, Illinois – Bret Bielema had a strange introduction to the Illinois football team. With a pandemic raging in the country, Bielema had to address his players with his face half covered while he could only see his players’ eyes above sheets of cloth covering their noses and mouths.

“The first time I met them I was sitting in a room and I was at the front of the room with a mask on. I’m looking at a room of guys I don’t know with masks, ”Bielema said. “It’s just a very unusual way of presenting yourself.”

Despite the mask, Bielema was able to portray his passion and emotion for his third power-five coaching opportunity – this time in his home country – and highlight how players over 100 players (which he didn were not recruited) were important to him and his program. This relationship developed during Bielema’s first month of work through one-on-one meetings and Zoom meetings. And given the rate of return of those over 100 players, that relationship has been positive.

While the pandemic has created a lot of hardship, the NCAA pandemic rule giving all players an extra year of eligibility actually gives Bielema a better chance at early success – and Bielema made it clear on Wednesday that he does not. planned no long-term reconstruction. with the Illini.

More than 15 seniors – who would have been forced to make it through the next year – will return for an extra season to play for Bielema, including the starting quarterback. Brandon peters, three offensive line starters, three defensive line starters, one starting defensive back Tony adams and the three junior specialists. While many returns would have used the extra year of eligibility under any coach Illini, Bielema helped win over the second-team All-Big Ten defensive end. Owen Carney to return after entering the transfer portal and convincing Adams not to enter the transfer portal.

Despite resuming a schedule that has only had one appearance in the bowl since 2015, Bielema will now return one of the Big Ten’s most experienced rosters who has a real chance of competing in the West Division in 2021. , perhaps offering Bielema a better starting point. for its mandate to sell to future prospects.

“Everyone thinks this COVID stuff is a bad deal for the way it’s restrictive, but in reality there’s never been a better time to be a Division I football transition because you can recruit any. a senior class, which I tried to day, ”said Bielema. “Some stayed, some evolved and were able to keep a lot of guys who normally went out. So that was a huge asset with the guys we could hold onto, so it’s really like a whole bonus class.

Get 60% off your first year of an annual VIP pass to Illini Inquirer!

Of course, Bielema failed to convince everyone to stay. All-Big Ten’s first offensive lineman Kendrick green, All-Big Ten linebacker Jake hansen, main receiver Josh Imatorbhebhe, starting linebacker Milo Eifler and starting cornerback Nate hobbs all have entered the draft. But the still relatively new transfer portal also gave Bielema the advantage of more easily filling those immediate holes.

So far, Bielema has added six transfers, including many successful programs including Notre Dame WR Jafar Armstrong, Alabama DB Eddie smith, Georgia DB Prather Hudson, NC State LB Calvin hart, Michigan State FB / TE Max Rosenthal and ECU RB Chase hayden. All of these players are expected to be eligible immediately to help achieve Bielema’s goal of early success with the Illini.

“We’ve already added a few guys to our roster now that, a) I know they had to be good players, but they had to be good people,” Bielema said. “I wanted to bring in people who represent what I know we need here. This is why we have specifically targeted not only the players, but perhaps the players of certain types of programs that have a winning tradition. Some of them are very, very winning traditions. Bringing this into your locker room is a very unique thing. You can bring that as a coach, but if you can do that as a player, it means something.

With the exception of Hudson, all of these transfers have several years of eligibility remaining, so these are not one-year fixes on Illini’s holes. Yet Bielema also devoted a few long-term scholarships. With a week ahead of the spring signing period (which begins Feb. 3), Bielema secured two preparation engagements over the past month, the Alabama three-star running back Josh mccray (6-foot-1, 220) and three-star Georgia outside linebacker Dwayne johnson (6ft 4in, 225), both of whom have body types and skills that were lacking on Bielema’s inherited roster.

Still, having inherited a 14-person class of 2021 from the previous staff, Bielema is a bit picky with who he pursues in a 2021 recruiting class that has few unengaged prospects remaining – especially with Illinois just a few away. scholarships before reaching its debut. Limit of 25 scholarships in the class of 2021.

“I didn’t really want to go back to 2021 and find guys just to have guys,” Bielema said. “I want to have high caliber guys. We’re going to be signing some guys here in about a week. But for the most part, I really focused on the guys we can add now that I know.

And “now” seems to be Bielema’s main goal. He inherited a program in turmoil in Arkansas and lost his first 13 SEC games. He bounced back to win 10 of his next 18 SEC games, but the weight of those early losses seemed to pull him down as he lost 9 of his last 10 SEC games to Arkansas to win a pink slip.

Unlike its Illinois predecessor, Lovie smith, who unsuccessfully demolished his inherited roster from Illini to install his own young rookies – hoping that would lead to future success that never really happened – Bielema is striving to win now so he can win more later. Bielema won’t really know what he has on his roster until he can step onto the pitch and train his legacy roster this spring and fall.

But Bielema does not hide his intentions. He pointed out over the past month and again on Wednesday that his best chance for success quickly is to make the most of the roster he inherited and add a few of his own immediate impact transfers, sorted by the shutter.

“I’m trying to find the best players so that we can have the best team we can have this year,” said Bielema. “I’m not going to skip a step to be where we want to be, but I’m trying to be good now. I don’t want to wait three years from now. I think due to the current rules you can try to do it. I also know that we have a lot of work to do. “