Asmussen | Bielema OK with new Big Ten availability list

Aug. 29—CHAMPAIGN — Illinois football coach Bret Bielema's game week to-do list has an added piece, courtesy of the Big Ten.

The league recently announced plans on Friday for its football programs to release a player-availability report at least two hours before kickoff.

Bielema, about to start his third season in charge of the Illini, figured something was coming in the way the schools publicize which players are out for the game ahead of time.

"It's been trending in that direction really since I came back into college football (hired by Illinois in December 2020)," Bielema said Monday afternoon during his weekly press conference in the Memorial Stadium press box. "When I was in the NFL, I was really amazed at the amount of volume of medical information that's released. But it's a different league up there. It's a business."

With the Illini opening at 6:30 p.m. on Saturday against Toledo at Memorial Stadium, it means the report will be due by 4:30 p.m.

"As a rule of thumb, as coaches, we probably know by Thursday to Friday," Bielema said. "There's always going to be once to a couple times in a season where there is a guy who is going to be marginal."

It happened to Bielema in 2022 before Illinois played its second game of the season at Indiana, when offensive lineman Julian Pearl wasn't able to play because of a leg injury.

"We literally had to test him right before the game," Bielema said. "He almost played."

In Saturday night's opener, the Illini's sidelined list will include defensive back Matthew Bailey, who is recovering from offseason foot surgery. The sophomore from Moline was projected to start at safety, but Bielema said last week the earliest Bailey could return is Sept. 16 against Penn State.

Though there is "probably a little more red tape for us to work through," Bielema doesn't object to the new rule.

"It's probably something in the long run that might be better, especially in this day and age with all the gambling going around," the Illinois coach added. "I think that's probably the driving force more than anything."

Different tacticLSU coach Brian Kelly is releasing twice-a-week injury reports similar to the NFL model.

Bielema doesn't expect the Big Ten to follow suit.

"We'll do what the conference is," Bielema said. "Brian Kelly can do whatever Brian Kelly wants to do.

"Even in our league, I know last year there were a couple teams that reported injuries. I kind of was always amazed how that came out. I understand the whole side the world is dealing with right now with gambling and all that goes into it. If there's information out there, it's out there. But if it's not out there, I don't really want it out there."

Turning the pageHow does the start of 2023 compare for Bielema with the same time in 2021 and 2022?

"To me, every year is just a little bit different," he said. "We have three quarterbacks and none of them have played a snap for Illinois football. Even though (Brandon Peters) going into my first year had been a multi-game starter, you just have that comfort level with someone you've been in there with."

Check back in a few weeks, and he will have a better idea of how the season is progressing.

"I'm not going to be surprised by certain things I'm going to see," Bielema said. "There's going to be a really good play and we can't get too high. And there's going to be a really bad play and we can't get too low."

Bielema realizes the outside perception of his program has changed. Illinois has its most preseason awards candidates in more than 15 years.

"The part we as coaches have to be aware of is the immediate access our players have to letting people tell them how good they are," Bielema said.

Such as?

"Johnny Newton is doing a podcast for the Heisman. I'm like, 'Holy cow.' When (sports information director) Brett (Moore) came to me with that, I'm like, 'We've got a D-lineman that's in the Heisman race.' Some of these things are new-chartered waters. I'm very guarded about what our guys are hearing."

Triple duty?At this point, not for Danville's Caleb Griffin.

The team's starting kicker had been competing for the punting and kickoff spots, as well.

Bielema said late in his press conference on Monday that returning punter Hugh Robertson will again be the starter.