Asmussen | Oh, brother. Kreutz family enjoying time together

Apr. 15—CHAMPAIGN — Illinois football coach Bret Bielema was in his Smith Center office on Monday with his wife Jen and daughter Briella, who had the day off from school.

Looking out the window, Jen and Briella spotted two big guys walking across the grass practice field.

"Who's that?" they said.

It was Illinois center Josh Kreutz and Illinois linebacker James Kreutz. The two brothers were leaving the facility after a workout.

Jen took a quick picture of the two and Bret sent it the Kreutz's dad, Bears great Olin.

"I said, 'Hey, I know you've been able to watch this your whole life,'" Bielema recalled. "I get to watch it every day and it's pretty special.'"

Jen also took a video.

"Both of them were walking in sync," the Illini coach said. "I was in a band. I knew how to march. If you miss, you skip and that gets you back in line. They were walking in sync just talking. It was just awesome.

"I can't imagine having two boys on the same team in an environment like this who are thriving in this moment. Pretty cool."

Having brothers on his Illinois teams has been a winning formula for Bielema. The Brown twins, Chase and Sydney, led the Illini to eight wins in 2022 and are about to enter the NFL. They will be featured on an upcoming NFL Network show.

Maybe in a couple of years, that will be the Kreutz siblings. They are off to good starts.

Josh, a 6-foot-2, 280-pound sophomore, is the favorite to replace Alex Pihlstrom as the Illinois starting center. James, a 6-0, 210-pound redshirt freshman, is working his way into the rotation at linebacker after playing in three games in 2022.

Josh and James were standouts at Loyola Academy, where they played for former Illini linebacker John Holecek.

Rare opportunityJames and Josh appreciate the chance to play on the same team in college.

"It's fun," James said. "We're very close. We both love the sport of football. It's great to have him here. We get to train together."

"It's awesome," Josh said. "I was really hoping James was going to come here. When they got the offer, he called me right away. I was really excited. My family was really excited."

They learn from each other. James can help Josh figure out the defense. Josh offers pointers to James about dealing with offensive lines.

"If you think about what the offensive line is going to do to you, I think that helps with your technique," James said.

Do the brothers ever squabble? Not these days.

"When we were younger, we used to fight, but not much anymore," James said.

More likely, they are sharing a meal or playing video games.

Josh, who celebrated his 20th birthday on March 2, is 17 months older than James. They are thrilled to be at the same college since they didn't get to play much together in high school because Josh missed time with an injury.

"I like it a lot," James said. "Now that we're together, it's really cool."

When Josh made a commitment to Illinois, it became James' aim, too.

"My goal was to get to the same spot as he is," James said.

Their dad has been a major influence for James and Josh.

"He was my head coach in grade school, from third grade to eighth grade," James said. "He was a big part of it."

Olin, a 14-year NFL veteran who started 187 games and spent the majority of his career with the Bears, stopped playing when James was in second grade. He remembers watching his dad on the field.

Like James, Josh appreciates his dad's help.

"We talk about football all the time," he said. "He's taught me a lot. My mom (Wendi) is obviously a big part of my life, too. She helps me out a lot."

Growing up, James was always smaller than his brother. So offensive line wasn't much of an option. He played some at running back in high school.

James is part of a deep linebacker group at Illinois that includes Tarique Barnes and C.J. Hart Jr. Position coach Andy Buh is a James Kreutz fan.

"He plays with a lot of instinct and he plays mean," Buh said. "Those are the two things we loved about him and that's why he's here."

Open doorJosh spent the past two seasons learning from Doug Kramer and Pihlstrom on the Illinois offensive line about playing center. Now, it is his chance to put the ball in play.

"It's going good," Josh said. "Just trying to get better with every practice, every team segment, every individual drill."

He spent 2022 studying Barry Lunney Jr.'s offense, which was a change from the 2021 scheme under former offensive coordinator Tony Petersen.

"From last year, I learned that every practice matters and every practice you've got to get better at one thing," Josh said.

Illinois offensive line coach Bart Miller has certain expectations for the center.

"It's nothing too hard. You've got to ID fronts. Nothing really crazy," Josh said. "Other than that, just blocking the guy in front of you."

What if that is James?

"We try to go hard against each other, but try to get good work," Josh said. "We don't want to kill each other in practice."