New Illini coach Bielema says he doesn't want to wait to win

It's going on 40 days since Bret Bielema was anunced as Illiis' football coach, and since n he has assembled a staff, met returning players, recruited new ones, persuaded a top player to pull his name out of transfer portal and made rounds getting to kw administrators and alumni.

Bielema has plans to slow down. team started winter conditioning this week, and he still has to finalize a spring roster after he adds a couple more players to 2021 recruiting class.

“I’m trying to get best players so we can have best team we possibly can this year,” Bielema said Wednesday. “I'm t going to skip a step to get to where we want to be, but I’m trying to be good w. I don’t want to wait three years from w. way rules are w, you can try to do that.”

Bielema, who won three Big Ten championships at Wisconsin before moving on to Arkansas, has worked in NFL past three years. He signed a six-year contract paying $4.2 million annually. He took over a program that hasn't had a winning record since it went 7-6 in 2011. man he replaced, Lovie Smith, was 17-39 in five seasons.

Illini will build around what Bielema called “bonus seniors," players who are allowed to return for ar season because of disruption caused by COVID-19 pandemic.

Quarterback Brandon Peters anunced Dec. 29 he would be back in 2021, and Bielema talked top defensive lineman Owen Carney Jr. into taking his name out of transfer portal and return.

Or “bonus seniors” with starting experience who'll be back are offensive linemen Doug Kramer, Vederian Lowe and Alex Palczewski, defensive linemen Isaiah Gay and Jamal Woods, defensive back Tony Adams, punter Blake Hayes and kicker James McCourt.

Bielema also added two graduate transfers, defensive back Prar Hudson from Georgia and wide receiver Jafar Armstrong from tre Dame.

Bielema said he has spent a lot of time in his “Zoom Room” since arriving. That's where he's met with recruiting prospects and ir families and held individual meetings with players who are returning or who he wanted to convince to return.

Bielema said he was sensitive to emotions of seniors while y were considering ir options.

“”I kw Lovie's a good man. He had an effect on a lot of se guys' hearts," he said. “I was always trying to be respectful. With this transition, I hope to take you to a higher level. That's just being real with m. Some of se guys had to go through pain of, ‘It hasn’t been very fun here last couple years and I just lost coaches I love.' ”

Illiis signed 14 high school seniors, all rated as three-star prospects, three days after Smith was fired and three days before Bielema was introduced as new coach.

“Those guys are all welcome into our family,” Bielema said. “I’ve reached out to m, built a relationship, a couple are on campus already.”

Im credits: AP