Bret Bielema slams entire Illinois roster, talks major offseason turnover
After kicking off his campaign at Illinois with an upset win over Nebraska, Bret Bielema is having a rough year as the new head coach for the Fighting Illini.
Illinois is now 2-5 on the year, with their only other win coming against Charlotte. They are last in the Big Ten in both passing yards (153.7) and points (17.7) per game.
Bielema spoke with the media on Monday and offered a scathing set of critiques of his team.
“As a head coach, you’re only as good as your roster,” Bielema said. “I kind of learned that the first time I went to the Kentucky Derby. Nobody was betting on the jockeys. Everybody was betting on the horses.”
The state of Illinois, largely, is not a hotbed for college football talent, and with the recent rise of Northwestern, it is becoming even more difficult to convince in-state recruits to come to Champaign. Their previous four recruiting classes have been no higher than 12th in the Big Ten, and their 2020 and 2021 classes had zero four-star recruits. Additionally, Illinois has had 14 players enter the transfer portal since December 2020.
Next, the first-year head coach, who previously served in that capacity at both Wisconsin and Arkansas, was particularly critical of his offensive line, offering a damning report on the linemen he inherited.
“I don’t believe we have a player in the two-deep that they’ve recruited here over the last three years that is really significantly doing anything for us in the playing department,” Bielema said. “That’s a major concern.”
The comment has sparked widespread reactions from fans, questioning Bielema’s leadership ability. Illinois returned 21 “super seniors” and had nine offensive starters return in total. They have some young talent in freshmen Brody Wisecarver and Josh Kreutz, but they will need time to develop.
“As this roster continues to transition, I’ve gotta make tough decisions,” Bielema said. “Players have to make decisions. The roster is going to have a chance to get to where we want to be to win a championship.”
Regardless of the factuality of the statements, the sentiment expressed publicly from the podium does not exactly instill confidence in a struggling team with just a 0.8% chance to reach six wins and become bowl eligible.
Illinois heads to Happy Valley on Saturday to play No. 7 Penn State. They have not faced a Top-10 opponent since they upset No. 6 Wisconsin in October 2019. Penn State is a 23.5-point favorite despite uncertainty at the quarterback position after Sean Clifford suffered an injury against Iowa almost two weeks ago.