ILLINOIS FOOTBALL: Bret Bielema hits the ground Zooming

CHAMPAIGN – Bret Bielema and his wife already selected the lot in Champaign where they will build their house, and Bielema is living the bachelor life at this point, while laying the groundwork of the next Illini football regime.

These are busy days, but he’s negotiating his way through COVID thanks to Zoom, the tool of our time. Yet there was a Zoom call with the family that took his breath away, when one of his Bielema’s young daughters popped a simple question: “Hey Dad, can you just come home?’’

“Straight dagger to the heart,’’ Bielema said.

In this brave new world staggering through a worldwide pandemic, Bielema more than adjusted and hit the ground running in his third Power 5 head coaching job. While embracing the challenges of undergoing the latest overhaul with the Illini and new strategies in the face of COVID, Bielema found a way to work Zoom, allowing his personality and attention to detail to shine.

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