CHAMPAIGN — When he first grew to become a head coach in 2006 at Wisconsin, Bret Bielema began his pregame routine 12 days earlier than the opener.
However bowl video games taught him a lesson which have modified his methods.
“You’ll be able to overprepare,” Bielema mentioned.
Wisconsin went to a bowl yearly Bielema was there as a coordinator and head coach with the Badgers from 2004-12.
“You get that (bowl) announcement, then you definitely begin focusing in and you will get slightly bit too regimented,” the Illinois coach mentioned this week. “You continue to need to see some crispness. The children need to see various things.”
So for regular-season openers, Bielema went from a 12-day buildup to 10.
This yr, forward of the Aug. 27 kickoff in opposition to Wyoming, Illinois turns its consideration to the Cowboys full-time beginning on Thursday.
The workload is well-planned. The coaches and gamers need to use their treasured time correctly.
As a result of each groups are enjoying for the primary time, it’s completely different mannequin than Illinois will use for later video games this season.
“Once we get to Virginia (Sept. 10), they’ll have a sport beneath their belt and we’ll see their new coaches, their new schemes, their new ideas,” Bielema mentioned. “For Indiana and Wyoming, we’re not going to have any movie earlier than we play these video games so we’ve already made our scouting reviews. We’ve already achieved all of the issues we have to do. Clearly, we’ll regulate it as we collect information from them on their depth and conditions like that.”
Fast turnaroundAfter Wyoming, the Illini start preparation for his or her Sept. 2 sport at Indiana. That’s six days to prepare as a substitute of the standard seven with the Friday night time kickoff in Bloomington, Ind., opening the Huge Ten season for Illinois.
The Illini will observe on Aug. 29 as a substitute of getting a typical Monday off.
“We’ll simply speed up,” Bielema mentioned.
Illinois will watch the Wyoming movie on Aug. 28, put it to mattress by that Sunday night time and begin looking forward to the Hoosiers.
Final yr, Bielema received his Huge Ten opener in opposition to Nebraska on the way in which to a better-than-expected 5-7 season.
A victory in opposition to Indiana can be a lift in the direction of a potential bowl bid, one thing this system solely achieved 4 occasions final decade. It’s exhausting to think about Illinois attending to the required six wins wanted for bowl eligibility and not using a victory in opposition to the Hoosiers.
Indiana is making an attempt to bounce again from a disappointing 2-10 season that featured a winless 0-9 mark in Huge Ten play. What began as a hopeful run towards the highest of the Huge Ten East changed into a catastrophe for coach Tom Allen and his program. The Hoosiers will definitely view Illinois as a must-win sport. And vice versa.
It is going to mark the primary sport for the Illini on the Memorial Stadium in Bloomington since 2013. That was Bielema’s first yr as head coach at Arkansas.
Time flies.
Seal of approvalIllinois offensive lineman Alex Palczewski is aware of his approach round coaching camp. He’s ending up No. 6 at Illinois. Subsequent yr’s for him might be within the NFL.
“It’s at all times distinctive each single yr,” mentioned Palczewski, who already has 52 profession begins. “Clearly, this yr, we’ve got a brand new offense. We have now to learn to do all that.”
Acquainted faces Doug Kramer and Vederian Lowe have moved on to the NFL.
“It’s getting used to enjoying subsequent to new guys,” Palczewski mentioned. “It’s jelling with new guys and having a cohesiveness with everybody.”
The veteran appreciates the way in which camp is being run with Bielema in cost, with all practices going down both inside Memorial Stadium or on the grass observe fields situated on the east aspect of the venue.
“Every part is organized from the highest to the underside,” Palczewski mentioned. “The one factor I like about Coach Bielema is that if there’s something he doesn’t see (achieved accurately), he’s going to cease observe and let everyone know what’s fallacious. He at all times desires us to study. He doesn’t need us to go on the market and be machines. He desires us having an consciousness for the sport. That’s one factor he does an ideal job at.”
Palczewski mentioned Bielema expects the gamers to have the ability to deal with each second and now have an consciousness of the foundations. One other facet of coaching camp to contemplate earlier than the Illini flip their full consideration to Wyoming.
“Simply in case we discover ourselves in bizarre conditions,” Palczewski mentioned, “so we perceive what’s occurring.”
Bob Asmussen could be reached at 217-393-8248 or by e-mail at asmussen@news-gazette.com