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What Bret Bielema said after Illinois’ first day of spring practice
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Bret Bielema got his first glimpse of his new team.
On Wednesday, Illinois opened up spring practice, kicking of a new era of Illini football. It marks the first time Bielema has run a practice in Champaign and is the beginning of the 2021 preparations.
Last season, Illinois finished with a 2-6 record. When Bielema was hired, he was able to recruit several members of last year’s team back to Champaign, giving him an experienced and veteran team in his first year.
Still, there was some rust on the tires as the Fighting Illini hit the practice field on Wednesday. Speaking with reporters, Bielema expects to see a significant improvement when his team is the on the field next, and said that he saw “typical first day” stuff.
Here’s what Bielema had to say following Illinois’ first practice of the spring:
#illini Bret Bielema: Absolutely awesome to get out in the stadium for first practice. It's been a long time coming for me, three years out of the college game.
— Jeremy Werner (@JWerner247) March 24, 2021
#illini Bret Bielema: Typical first day. There are some things that went well, things that didn't go well. Biggest improvement is usually from practice one to practice two.
— Jeremy Werner (@JWerner247) March 24, 2021
#illini Bret Bielema: Prefers practicing in the stadium. "The more you can become comfortable in your own stadium, the better you'll be."
— Jeremy Werner (@JWerner247) March 24, 2021
#illini Bret Bielema: Jake Hansen just got back to campus. We weren't counting on him during spring ball.
— Jeremy Werner (@JWerner247) March 24, 2021
#illini Bret Bielema: Mike Epstein is back in Florida, working in Florida and taking classes at home.
— Jeremy Werner (@JWerner247) March 24, 2021
#illini Bret Bielema said whether Mike Epstein returns this fall is in his hands. Said they'd love to have him back, and he's as big of a fan of Epstein as any player he's never met.
— Jeremy Werner (@JWerner247) March 24, 2021
#illini Bret Bielema said he's using Ayo Dosunmu's story to sell to in-state recruits.
"I'm looking for that Ayo."
— Jeremy Werner (@JWerner247) March 24, 2021
#illini Bret Bielema bounces around between positional groups during practice.
— Jeremy Werner (@JWerner247) March 24, 2021
#illini Bret Bielema said Isaiah Gay has gained 17 pounds of lean muscle mass and lost three pounds of body fat.
— Jeremy Werner (@JWerner247) March 24, 2021
#illini Bret Bielema said his family moves to Champaign for good on Friday.
"We've kind of been living vicariously through FaceTime and Zoom."
Family is building a home, currently in a rental home.
— Jeremy Werner (@JWerner247) March 24, 2021
Dustin grew up in the heart of Big Ten country and has been in sports media since 2010. He has been covering Big Ten football since 2014. You can follow him on Twitter: @SchutteCFB