Bret Bielema wasted little time taking charge as the next Illini football head coach. 

After Lovie Smith went five seasons without calling the head man of the Illinois High School Football Association, Bielema went five hours. 

While Bielema ran a pro-style offense at Wisconsin and Arkansas, the Prophetstown, Illinois, native vowed to produce an offensive with new dimensions he learned in the NFL and SEC. Bielema even managed to see his new team play, flying to State College, Pennsylvania, to watch the Illini take on the Nittany Lions on Saturday.  

While getting interviewed by the broadcasters during the second quarter, Penn State was running through Illinois for another score. By halftime, the depleted defense gave up 42 points.

But while the defense probably made Bielema shake his head, the head coach does have one necessary asset he needs to build a winner around: dual-threat freshman quarterback Isaiah Williams. 

In a lackluster final performance before Bielema officially takes the reins, Williams showed flashes of brilliance in the first half, providing a quarterback with skills he’s never worked with. 

In Bielema’s seven years at Wisconsin — save for Russell Wilson — the offense ran through the running backs. Melvin Gordon, Montae Ball and James White rewrote the rushing records, while pocket passing Joel Stave and Scott Tolzien acted as game managers. Even Wilson was overshadowed by Ball’s 39-touchdown season. 

“As coaches, we all evolve,” Bielema said. “I was a head coach for 12 years and witnessed some good things at the programs I was at. But you gotta be aware in college football, it always evolves through the rules and the way society evolves in general.”

Bielema’s change of heart points toward a more spread attack, and the dual-threat Missouri native has the inside track earning the starting job in lieu of Brandon Peters, a player who would fit better in an old Bielema offense. 

On Saturday, it appeared Peters earned the starting job against the Nittany Lions. But on the first play, he threw a lateral pass to Williams, who threw it downfield for a 30-yard completion. Williams promptly went on to play the rest of the significant snaps. Peters was merely a trick play. 

Losing 56-21 can’t make any Illini fan feel good, but at the same time, the game was one of the most irrelevant in program history. The Illini, playing without Josh Imatorbhebhe, three offensive linemen and six defensive starters, traveled to a frigid Beaver Stadium without a head coach. And for the first quarter, the offense looked like an old Oregon team. 

Williams was running wild against Penn State and played fearless, leading the team to a 21-point quarter. He was accurate with his throws and was impossible to tackle in the pocket, which led to big chunks in scrambling yards. 

Penn State eventually figured out Rod Smith’s offense, bottling up the Illini for only 75 yards after the quarter.

But this was a freshman playing with a limited offense in the freezing cold. This was a freshman who had to sit out for a portion of the season due to contact tracing. This was a freshman who constantly took a back seat to a senior quarterback. 

Well, Williams won’t have a revolving door offense in 2021. Peters is likely gone and the scrambling quarterback probably –hopefully — won’t have to deal with COVID-19 next fall. Williams, despite the setbacks, made the most out of every situation and clearly showed he was the spark Peters could never provide in games against Iowa and Northwestern.

If someone said in 2012, Bret Bielema would be coaching the Illini with a 5-foot-10 quarterback who’s a better runner, it wouldn’t make sense. 

But that’s college football: adapt or die. Alabama switched to the spread offense and had to score 52 points over Florida to win the conference. LSU went from Les Miles coaching the I-formation to Ed Orgeron allowing Joe Burrow to throw it 50 times a game. 

For all of Lovie Smith’s shortcomings, he did leave the program in a better place than where he found it. In a normal season, Illinois probably musters six wins this season. Next year could be a bowl team if the right players return, though that’s not a guarantee. 

Still, even if Jake Hansen and the veteran offensive line take off, Williams will be around, and Bielema will probably have three years to craft a consistent bowl contender with him and become the Big Ten’s odd couple. Williams allows Bielema to compete in the offensive arms race that has taken over college football.  

“We’re looking for a leader,” Williams said. “We’re going to give him 100%. Whatever you want, we’re ready to do it.”

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