Former SIU/NIU/Minnesota/New Mexico State head coach Jerry Kill at the recent college coaches convention gave his four 'keys' to having a successful college football program....guy won everywhere he went from D-2 to power five…….Kill knows something about building a winning program without a lot of resources.
1) Make sure the first thing you do is hire a great staff.
2) You better have a good strength coach. "He's got to understand you're lifting for football," Kill said, pointing to the fact that New Mexico State suffered no major injuries in his two years as proof of the difference between lifting to endure the rigors of a football season and lifting to look good on Instagram. Kill also claimed to have welded a squat rack himself at a previous stop.
3) Prioritize academics. Kill, bluntly: "If they're not eligible, they can't help you win."
4) The training room has to good. "Helps you win," he said.
-Bret Bielema going into his fourth season as Illinois head football coach…below will in my opinion rate how Bielema’s is doing using Kill’s ‘keys to success’.
Staff? First hired…really liked Bielema’s picks….Ryan Walters as defensive coordinator….run first offensive coordinator in Tony Petersen….veteran assistants Kevin Kane, Andy Buh, George McDonald mixed with young guys like Aaron Henry, Bart Miller, and Terence Jamison…solid group….now? Only Miller, Jamison and Henry remain from original staff….don’t think Barry Lunney Jr. replacing Petersen as offensive coordinator was a huge upgrade…Henry replacing Walters as D-coordinator was not/will not be an upgrade….sad thing….Bielema did the same at Arkansas he is doing at Illinois… strong first staff…as his team struggled assistants left….Assistant coach carousel began….well-respected guys like Buh/McDonald leave for various reasons…..once that happens assistants many times don’t trust head coach/start to protect their desk/job vs. all pulling together same direction….so at this point ‘hiring a good staff?’ shoulder shrug in my view.
S&C staff? written earlier this winter…huge off-season for the Illini S&C staff to improve this team….2nd half of both 2022/2023 seasons….pad level/conditioning were poor majority of games…that’s on the S&C staff/how your team practices….still going hard in practice to keep the players in shape (pad level all about how well your team is conditioned) …or is team so banged up practice becomes a walk thru/keeping players healthy vs. conditioned.
Academics? Fighting Illini football very high graduation rate…rarely if ever a player flunks out….positive for the program.
Training room is always a tough one….it’s football injuries happen….my opinion S&C staff gets player physically ready for the season….training staff keeps them healthy during the seasons….training staff…..determining if a player is ‘hurt’ (can still play thru it) or ‘injured’ (can’t practice during the week/play on Saturday)….again second half of 2022/2023 season Illini football has had a lot of injuries….is that cause of the S&C? or training staff? combo of both? S&C isn’t doing their job getting players ready for the season…hard for the training staff to keep them healthy.
Positive Bielema does have a very patient/supportive AD in Josh Whitman….Athletic director has within reason given the head coach all the resources needed to be successful at Illinois.
*Illini pick-up 2025 offensive line commitment…
-6-foot-7, 300-pound tackle Griffin Rousseau committed to Bielema's program after a junior day visit last month....From Stoughton (Wis.) High School....had early offers from Duke, Illinois and Syracuse...since the staff's at Duke/Syracuse have moved on don't know if those offers still valid?....Rousseau what you call a ‘project’….huge not fat carries his weight well but stiff/mechanical in his movement....looks like a right guard/right tackle type...know Bielema wants to get players out of Wisconsin cause of his connections up there....taking a commitment from this kid early? head scratcher.
*Illini news and notes…
-Little birdy tells me Whitman/Bielema having a ‘big shooter’/booster get together in Texas later this month….improving NIL for the football program one of the hot topics that will be discussed no doubt……another name reportedly being considered for the Illini wide receivers job….Justin Stepp South Carolina assistant….Stepp and offensive coordinator Lunney Jr. long time friends….rumor athletic department going forward with plans to update the luxury boxes at Memorial Stadium….first thought? ‘They just built those boxes’…then realize I went on the media tour to show them off in….2008….so yeah can see they might need updating.
I’m definitely concerned about our talent on staff, the recruiting ability of staff as well as talent at defensive line and in the secondary. This is such a pivotal year for the team and that can’t be overstated.