Next Move for Bret Bielema in 2021? Help Bring Back High School Football
New Illinois coach off to good start but needs to leverage platform for return of sport
(Photo Credit: University of Illinois)
By all indications, it’s been a productive first few weeks on the job for Illinois football coach Bret Bielema.
Only in the job since Dec. 19, the former Wisconsin and Arkansas coach has hit all the right beats early in his tenure.
He’s been open and transparent in interviews. He’s spoken of his Illinois roots and desire to recruit the state. He’s Master of Zoom, organizing a call with school alums that was well-received. Monday, Bielema poached a well-respected staff member from Jim Harbaugh and Michigan.
The staff member has previous ties to Bielema, but the headline alone is public relations gold:
Bielema’s boss, Illinois Athletic Director Josh Whitman, has given his splashy new hire a robust budget to put together the best staff possible. So far, Bielema is leveraging collegiate and NFL relationships to do just that. When recruits are allowed back on campus, a just-unwrapped eight-figure football-only facility awaits them.
So far so good. Momentum is slowly building.
Except for one thing. This one thing is extraordinarily important.
The new Illinois football coach needs to fight for football in his home state.
As of this writing, January 5, 2021, we are nowhere closer to football being played this school year then we were in July of 2020. That was when Lord of Lockdowns (Gov. Pritzker) first revealed his politically-motivated strategy to deny the participation of ‘contact’ sports in this state. He gave no basis for his decisions other than fear-laden anecdotes and feeble ‘could haves’ or ‘maybe so’s.’
Almost six months later, nothing has changed in Illinois. Those tasked with lobbying for the well-being of young people have failed to do so, more concerned with the protection of political allegiances than doing what’s best for kids. The only movement are pages on the calendar. The thousands of athletes who play football in this state are running out of time to do so.
A February 15 scheduled start date for football is laughable at this point. Unless someone in power speaks out. And that person now is Bielema.
On that Zoom call with alums in the final week of 2020, Bielema spoke of recruiting. He made a plea to those on the call to help with roster-building. If there are any players still out there who could be good fits for the Illini, he’d be happy to take a look.
If Bielema wants to ‘take a look’, how about doing so on live stream or on film in March and April?
(A current NCAA Dead Period prevents in-person evaluation from coaches through April 15. But there are no restrictions on watching live streams or film).
Roster spots at Power 5 schools like Illinois are scarce. There is a cap on scholarships. The leverage game rarely favors the player unless that player is of five star caliber. Football players who want to play in college, at any level, need to play. Unlike basketball, the sport is devoid of a standardized travel/AAU circuit. High school games matter more in football than any other sport. And Illinois football players haven’t played any since October and November of 2019. That’s 14 and 15 months.
Yes, it’s been that long.
In the press release issued after the hire, it quoted Bielema as saying how ‘re-connecting’ with high school coaches would be a ‘priority.’
The best way Bielema can do that in the first week of 2021?
Issue another press release. That release should include a few paragraphs that read something like this:
I am committed to constructing rosters that will compete for Big 10 championships. I believe the path to do so is recruiting the top high school football players in Illinois. In order for us to so, those players need to be on the field.
The 2021 class is thus far been denied an opportunity to play their senior seasons in Illinois. Myself and my staff value the mental and physical well being of all athletes in the state. We believe being able to practice and play games is essential to athletes reaching their full potential. Illinois football players and all athletes should be granted the opportunity all young people have in high school, which is to play their seasons.
He can add something about ‘health and safety’ to appease the lockdown bros.
Nothing in the statement has to be Covid-specific. It’s unnecessary to reference positivity rates or hospitalizations. Bielema doesn’t have to pick a fight with the Governor (although it would so much fun if he did). No one is asking him to become a contagion expert. Stick to his lane.
Bielema is a football coach. He happens to be the most powerful one in Illinois. Stay with what he knows. And that’s football.
So fight for football. Fight for the kids of Illinois who continue to be sidelined.
Want to rapidly gain trust of high school coaches? Help grant their teams a season.
Want to win the Big Ten West Division in the next few years? Sign a few of those ‘under-recruited’ players you asked alums about. There are plenty just a car ride away once the NCAA Dead Period is lifted.
The coronavirus pandemic has exposed so-called educational leaders in this state. When times are good, those in charge (district superintendents, down ballot politicians) proceed capably. But times were not good for the majority of 2020. When leadership was needed, voices questioning Pritzker and his oppressive verdicts, we instead got silence, or in the case of the Illinois High School Association, weak-kneed surrender. The people in power have done nothing to bring sports back and there is no reason to think that will change in 2021.
But there is a new person in power.
The way the world works is powerful people move mountains.
Use your platform, Coach Bielema. Say football needs to be played this season.
On a snowy field in March, you may find yourself a diamond in the rough.
Amen!!! Let’s go Coach Bielema!! I’m one excited ILLINI Alum who has a Senior Son who has dreamed his whole life of playing football for the Orange and Blue. This state situation is devastating to him and his teammates, but he’s still working out everyday and running routes in the snow! Nothing will stop him! 🧡💙🏈