‘Iron sharpens iron’: Bielema’s first impressions of Illini spring ball

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CHAMPAIGN, Ill. — To most, March on college campuses means buzzer beaters and all the madness that comes with the NCAA men’s and women’s basketball tournaments.

For all the college football fanatics, on the other hand, it means the start of spring practices, something that’s underway in Champaign for the Illini.

For Illinois head coach Bret Bielema, once spring ball gets going, he’s all about pitting his top guys up against each other.

“I’m a big believer in iron sharpens iron, all the time,” Bielema said. “When we go live practices in the spring, even though it may not be a scrimmage, we very much, almost all the time, go ones-ones.”

However, during the first few days and practices, the main focus will be on communication in order to help both the offensive and defensive units get used to some major changes.

“First two weeks here, I think there’s going to be a huge emphasis on getting the functionality of what we do, offense and defense,” Bielema said. “Defense, it is a new scheme, but on offense, regardless of who’s at quarterback, there will be a new signal-caller working with those guys.”

That change in defensive scheme will be coming as a result of the Illini hiring a new defensive coordinator in Bobby Hauck, who’s known for running a 3-3-5 scheme.

While nothing has been revealed about what exactly the Illinois defense will be running, Hauck mentioned that he and his staff have been busy getting things ready ahead of spring ball.

“We’ve been working hard at it, putting playbooks together and all those different things you have to do to get ready to practice,” Hauck said.

Learning a new defensive scheme or system isn’t easy, and it often takes time.

But while taking a look at how things have been going for the players before physically getting on the field, Hauck seemed to be impressed with his unit.

“We’ve got smart players here, our guys seem to pick things up really well,” Hauck said.

In terms of the offense, as Bielema mentioned, one of the biggest changes will be the change in QB.

The Illini brought in Katin Houser via the transfer portal, presumably to act as the team’s starter. He comes to the Illini after two seasons as the starter at East Carolina, but he started his career in East Lansing with the Michigan State Spartans.

For offensive coordinator Barry Lunney Jr., one of the big things that stands out about the team’s new QB is the experience he has.

“He is experienced, and that brings value, and that was obviously something that was lucrative to us,” Lunney said. “His experience, not just directly in the last couple of years, but also his experience at Michigan State and in this conference in particular.”

Lunney said multiple times that he’s “excited” to get to work with Houser and work with his skillset, as well as the rest of his offensive group.

Another player that the OC directly mentioned that he’s looking forward to seeing play in the spring was Kaden Feagin, who will be switching positions from running back to tight end.

“There will be a learning curve for him, and I’m excited for him to get that journey started, he already has with [tight ends coach] Coach Elliott,” Lunney said. “Looking forward to seeing him and how that unfolds.”

Bielema also announced that he’ll be releasing a full roster sometime next week.

This is something that will be of note, as some guys, like Feagin, are going to be playing positions that are new to themselves and to the coaching staff in the first few days.

The first practice of spring ball was Monday, March 23.

With no official scrimmage taking place this year, stay tuned for more coverage on the practice period on TCR.

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