Winning team got to eat steak while the losers were left with “beans and weenies.”

Tim Beckman 'here to change the culture' of the football program...

*Winning team got to eat steak while the losers were left with “beans and weenies.”…

-Back when the Illini had a spring football game….Tim Beckman strategy to motivate players to win the day…course head coaches from Lou Holtz to Jim Tressel to Urban Meyer had been doing the ‘beans and weenies’ crap for years….hell Ron Turner’s staff when at Illinois did beans and weenies for the spring contest….just coming out of Beckman’s mouth….made the then head coach seem like even more of a doofus cause of his earlier buffoon comments.

*Illinois football tidbits…

-Talked to a few NFL scouts/two former Illini players that were lucky enough to infiltrate practice this spring….below some of their thoughts.

‘(Luke) Altmyer looks great has command running the team like the leader they want him to be’….’better than last spring and he looked very good then’….’going to be the best Illini quarterback since (Kurt) Kittner’

‘No receiver stood out like (Pat) Bryant did last spring….they do love (Ball State transfer Justin) Bowick he can play’…..’It seems Bielema trying to keep (West Virginia transfer Hudson) Clement a secret….not say much about him….off to the side an assistant compared Clement to Drew Morgan who was so good for Bret at Arkansas’…’in that offense can see Clement catching 60 or more passes.’

‘(Left Tackle J.C.) Davis looks good’….’Davis really stood out the days I was there lost weight got a little quicker good decision to come back’…..’they like their offensive line more than I do….either the interior d-line is good….just didn’t get enough push from what I saw could be more physical’.…..’man they are really pumping (starting center Josh) Kreutz’s up….I don’t get it…..don’t think he is good enough even with all the experience’…..’work they have done with (right tackle Melvin) Priestly is amazing…someone should get a raise getting him to play as well as he is’….’Priestly keeps working can be a staring guard in the NFL’…..’big improvement in the quality of young linemen they have…..had some tree stumps first few years running around….don’t see any of those types now (on the offensive line).’

‘(Staff) feels they have a rotation of six to seven guys that can play on the defensive line…strength that side of the ball….think that’s true’….’new guys physically ready to play at this level….if he stays healthy '(Wisconsin d-line transfer James) Thompson beast in that scheme.’

Bielema talked about sophomore cornerback Tanner Heckel as a player moving up the depth chart so had to ask about him response….’Real deal….excellent instincts…best instincts of the cornerbacks….watching him knew exactly where the play was going’…..hell last white cornerback that saw extended started playing time at Illinois? Jerry Hamner out of Charleston (Ill.) High School recruiting class of 1986….before the 1990 season when starter Chris Green got hurt….Hamner started 9 games in his spot.

*Why has Bret Bielema had the success at Illinois when other head coaches seemed to have failed?…

-For some reason dumb ass me spent five minutes listening to a ‘podcast’ host asking the ‘guest’ (who gets paid to write about college football) ‘why has Bielema had success at Illinois when others have failed?’…..this dope hemmed and hawed said a lot of words but you learned nothing…..so asked scouts/former players their thoughts on head coaches success.

‘Bielema has run a competent program’....’Lovie Smith recruited well on his side of the ball but didn't seem to give a shit about the other side….just left it to the offensive coordinator and if he fucked it up….He would fire him’….’Lovie didn’t have many teaching assistants….most of his staff was shit when he was there…that changed when Bielema took over.’

‘Fundamentals’....’Longer Bret has been around Champaign….better his team is getting with the fundamentals…you see it improve each spring….little by little he and his staff established a standard…players understand what is expected of them.’

‘Gets rid of bad apples’....’Like how they have attacked the portal….and when they make a mistake….they get rid of the guy…don’t fuck around….just get rid of him….see some of these programs that think they can fix a talented player that’s a shithead….Bielema does a good job of weeding them out.’

My view….all of the above and…..Bielema has gotten the most resources of any Illini head football coach ever….from coaches salaries to an NFL sized personnel department to facilities and ‘commitment’ to the sport….upper half of the expanded Big Ten conference that commitment from the athletic director….also helps to get the quarterback position right.

*Illini get a running back…

-5-foot-11 Tampa (Fla.) Tech High School running back Javari Barnett recently committed to Bielema’s program….the 2026 prospect had several early offers from top SEC/B1G programs….got hurt in 2024 playing only three games….knee injury (meniscus)….as long as Dr. Do Over didn’t do the surgery….Barnett should be 100 percent come fall….highlight tape shows he will be the best Illini running back signed since…Rashard Mendenhall recruiting class of 2005….before his sophomore season…Barnett rated by Catapult Scouting Service as one of the top five players 2026 state of Florida……Catapult the most popular high school recruiting service college programs purchase.

*Catching my eye…..

-Nine 2026 football prospects visited Illinois over the weekend…one of those was Palatine (Ill.) High School offensive lineman Tony Balanganayi…..didn’t know much about young man…..being an offensive line snob those recruits first I take a look at…….watched his film and…..wow…all I can write.

Legit offers from schools like Mizzou to Michigan to Auburn…can see why…..so light on his feet at 6-foot-4, 260-pounds….plays with knee bend….stays balanced down field blocking…hits on the rise/consistently wins the 2nd step vs. opponent….right tackle/strongside defensive end in high school….can play either side in college personally would make him into a center with that size/movement skills…..centers hard to find/develop….looks skinny at listed 260 with a thick lower body so can easily add more weight.

One recruiting website had Balanganayi 21st best player in-state class of 2026….ummmm….best lineman in the state….yeah get real excited when the Illini can land a talent on the line like this young man.

*'Guess the Illini assistant'...

-'Older' types this is an easy one....One of the all-time characters in Illinois football history.....stories about this assistant grow as the years go on from players who were in CU when he first arrived....most have turned out true....first meeting with his players....cracked the chalkboard with repeated head butts (the old ones not the plastic boards)...telling players while head-butting, 'this is how we are going to play...beat their ass till they break'....would answer his office phone, 'sack the fuckin' quarterback' or 'stop the fuckin' run' till the athletic director told head coach to tell him, 'don't answer like that freaks people out'...couple of assistants at Illinois would later answer their phone's the same way when working in the NFL....when a player or another coach pissed him off...would have no problem challenging them to a fist fight....first few years head coach assigned a grad assistant to this coach to make sure when he lost his shit....GA would either settle him down or go for reinforcements to help put out the fire.

'Great recruiter he was a great recruiter'....Champaign 'media' legend always said that about the assistant...'He had a lot of girlfriends around town and ended up marrying his realtor' who was almost twenty years younger....'showed he could recruit'.....famous for telling prospects, 'can get your mom (wife/girlfriend) a good job and nice place to stay if you sign with us'.

Coach a big supporter of both the human blocking sled/'Ring of Fire' drill for players.....when a player (usually reserved for linemen/linebackers) 'wasn't putting out'/pissed coaches off.…..became a human blocking sled sent to the side to do one-on-one blocking drills vs. a line of reserves...line up and go till they either quit or couldn't physically block anymore....'Ring of Fire' toughen the fella's up one on one (often drunken) wrestling matches in the basement of Kam's usually on a Sunday morning...'How much do you want it?'....ultimately his on-and-off the field performance led to losing his job....'Guess the Illini assistant'.