Illini football coach Bret Bielema hopes to build on last year's success
CHICAGO (CBS) -- The Illini football team is coming off its best season in 15 years and their head coach is working to make sure the success doesn't stop.
Last year, Bret Bielema led the Illini to their first winning season since 2011, and their first eight-win season since 2007.
It's been a long time coming. That was four coaches ago. Now, the Illini are in a position to build on that success.
Bielema stopped by CBS 2 to chat with Matt Zahn about the progress he's made in his first two seasons in Champaign. One of the biggest changes is how NIL rules changes and the transfer portal have impacted not just recruiting but retention of student-athletes.
"It's a constant battle, and to be quite honest, because of the rules and the way they've changed, it's like you not only have to recruit your current class that you're recruiting, you have to recruit your current roster," Bielema said. "I tell our coaches every day, there's no more important relationships than the conversations you have right now. You're either building or tearing down a relationship we currently have. Fortunately for us, we're one of the best teams in the country at retaining our players. I think we rank like second or third out of 125 teams ... which means we're doing things right."
Another key part to that success at retaining talent could also be an emphasis on recruiting kids from the Chicago area, something the Illini haven't been so successful at in the past.
"Three years prior to my arrival, they had signed, I believe, four players from the state of Illinois," Bielema said. "We've now signed 24 in the last two years. So we have, both up here in Chicago and definitely downstate, really kind of have almost an even balance. There're a lot of good players in the state. We can't take them all, but we're trying to get our fair share."
One thing that will help Bielema's recruiting efforts is a path to the NFL. Four Illini players were selected in the NFL Draft this year, with six more signing free-agent deals.
