‘You fall in love with people, man’: Inside Senior Day and what it means to Bielema

CHAMPAIGN, Ill. — This Saturday isn’t just the last game of the regular season for Illinois. It isn’t just an ordinary game against Northwestern, even if it is for the Land of Lincoln Trophy.

No, this game is extra special for some Illini players because it will be the last time they get a chance to play in front of a home crowd at Gies Memorial Stadium.

In the opening statement of his most recent press conference, Illinois head coach Bret Bielema made sure to emphasize how important this game will be for those guys.

“Some really good opportunities in front of us, but the biggest one is on Saturday, to honor a group of seniors that have been absolutely awesome for us,” Bielema said.

The program will be honnoring a unique group, as seniors will be mixed in with fifth and sixth-year players, and players who have been Fighting Illini for all four years of their career will be mixed in with players who have transferred over in the past few seasons.

No matter how they arrived in Champaign, they’re sure to be celebrated just the same.

As for that group of true seniors, it’s the first group that Bielema recruited on his own and took through all four years of their college career at Illinois.

A choked-up, teary-eyed Bielema spoke about how much these relationships have meant to him.

“I just find it so rewarding to be the head coach, and know that Saturday sucks because it is the last time…This is my last week with them, that I know,” Bielema said. “Bowl games are good, but you fall in love with people, man.”

Not only have this group and Bielema formed close relationships, but they’ve also been really successful on the football field.

Since Bielema took over in late 2020, the Illinois football program has become nationally relevant for the first time in a long time.

The Illini have sent players to the NFL, been consistently ranked in the AP Poll and College Football Playoff rankings and have become bowl eligible three times, all under Bielema for the past five years.

He hasn’t done it without the help of some veteran players, however, namely, some of the guys who’ve been there since his first day at the helm.

“I get to be the head coach, and it’s next to my name, but that’s Dylan Rosiek, that’s Miles Scott, that’s Josh Kreutz, that’s Josh Gesky, that’s all of those guys that have just been with me through the thick and thin of it,” Bielema said.

College football and wearing the Orange and Blue have been a dominant part of a lot of these players’ lives for the past few years with weight-training, practice, summer camps, game days and everything in between.

This group of seniors, who’ll be honored on Saturday night, has devoted so many hours and tons of energy to the Illinois program.

But to Bielema, they weren’t just improving as football players, they were improving as men.

To him, Senior Day is supposed to celebrate the journey and how far they’ve come together. And isn’t that what it’s all about?

“I want Senior Day to have everyone in tears because it happened,” Bielema said. “Because what they did here is they came here, changed from a young man coming out of high school, to a new environment, and became a step in the direction of who they’re going to become.”