Bret Bielema talks facing his former team in weekly presser

Bret Bielema doesn’t want to talk about playing his former team this week.

The Illinois coach was the head coach at Wisconsin from 2006-12, and Badgers coach Paul Chryst was his offensive coordinator and quarterbacks coach. Now, the two will be facing each other as head coaches for the first time this week.

The matchup comes on the heels of Illinois’ 2nd win of the season over Charlotte 24-14 at Memorial Stadium. Redshirt junior running back Chase Brown ran all over the 49ers, totaling 257 yards and 2 touchdowns. The 257 yards are the 4th-most in a single game in Illinois history.

Bielema held his weekly press conference Monday morning to talk about Brown’s performance, where his team goes after beating Charlotte and address facing his old team again.

Here’s what he had to say:

#illini HC Bret Bielema said his time at Wisconsin helped him understand the importance of local and walk-on recruiting.

But Illinois is unique in that it has a bigger in-state population of recruits.

— Jeremy Werner (@JWerner247) October 4, 2021

#illini HC Bret Bielema on growth since Wisconsin: "Unfortunately, I've grown physically and emotionally."

— Jeremy Werner (@JWerner247) October 4, 2021

#illini Bret Bielema: Still unsure about the status of Jake Hansen and Devon Witherspoon. Closer this week than last.

— Joey Wagner (@mrwagner25) October 4, 2021

#illini HC Bret Bielema deflecting attention about him playing against former employer: This game is about University of Illinois football against University of Wisconsin football.

— Jeremy Werner (@JWerner247) October 4, 2021

#illini Bret Bielema: Seth Coleman is "probable" for Saturday. A lot depends on his body and how it heals.

Isaiah Gay was cleared to return to the game Saturday.

— Joey Wagner (@mrwagner25) October 4, 2021

#illini Bret Bielema: No gray uniforms this weekend.

— Joey Wagner (@mrwagner25) October 4, 2021

#illini Bret Bielema: Uniform reveal later this week.

— Joey Wagner (@mrwagner25) October 4, 2021

Orange helmets will be an identity and a constant moving forward.

— Jeremy Werner (@JWerner247) October 4, 2021

#illini Bret Bielema: Chase Brown and Vederian Lowe got the program's offensive players of the week this week.

Lowe was really, really good.

— Joey Wagner (@mrwagner25) October 4, 2021

#illini Bret Bielema: Vederian Lowe is sometimes in the Smith Center before I arrive at 5 a.m.

— Joey Wagner (@mrwagner25) October 4, 2021

#illini Bret Bielema: If the world was full of a lot of Vederian Lowe's it would probably be a better place for everybody.

— Joey Wagner (@mrwagner25) October 4, 2021

#illini HC Bret Bielema: BP needs more confidence in deep shots and they're altering some things in practice to improve that.

— Jeremy Werner (@JWerner247) October 4, 2021