Whitman fully in Bielema's corner
· Yahoo Sports
Jun. 27—CHAMPAIGN — When you put Illinois athletic director Josh Whitman at a microphone and ask him about Illini football coach Bret Bielema, glowing words are sure to follow.
It happened again Thursday during Whitman's annual media roundtable at the Bielfeldt Athletics Administration Building.
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Whitman, who hired Bielema to replace Lovie Smith before the 2021 season, spent about 10 minutes heaping praise on the one-time Wisconsin coach. Entering his sixth season at Illinois, Bielema has quickly moving up the career win list. With 37 victories, he is now No. 4. Only Bob Zuppke (131), Ray Eliot (83) and Mike White (47) are ahead of him.
Illinois football is now winning in a big way, with 10 and nine victories the past two seasons. Why?
"Our secret weapon in football is him," Whitman said. "He is such a remarkable head coach. He has put together another strong staff. He's reset the staff now a couple times. Not as perhaps as comprehensively as we did this offseason, but we've had a lot of people who have exited and a lot of people come in. I think it speaks to the reputation he has that he is able to attract such a high caliber of coach."
New deputy director of athletics Tom Michael has watched how Bielema works and has come away impressed.
"He's exceptional," Whitman said of Bielema.
It is the job of the administration to make sure Bielema has the resources (in other words, lots of money) to compete in the high-dollar Big Ten.
"We can't ask him to go in there and fight with one hand tied behind his back," Whitman said.
Whitman doesn't want his coaches to have to raise money.
"We've got to make sure he has what he needs in order to build the roster that allows us to compete," Whitman said.
Special skills
Whitman values Bielema both for his ability to evaluate talent and his penchant for helping players improve once they arrive on campus.
On the front end, Bielema looks at film of every potential recruit.
"I've never known another head coach, in any sport, who is as directly involved in recruiting as he is," Whitman said.
That helps Bielema find diamonds in the rough, under-recruited players.
"It seems like every year we get one or two late commits who come in and become real difference-makers for us," Whitman said.
Devon Witherspoon came to Illinois as a lightly-recruited high school player and is now one of the top cornerbacks in the NFL who just picked up a Super Bowl ring with the Seahawks.
He is on his way to becoming the highest paid player at his position. That same label applies to Illinois-trained Kerby Joseph, the highest-paid safety in the NFL with the Lions.
Whitman on Sorsby
The high-profile case involving former Texas Tech quarterback Brendan Sorsby has been in the headlines the past month or so.
Whitman has strongly-held beliefs about the dangers of gambling in relation to college sports. The Sorsby case is in his wheelhouse.
"I have a pretty long track record at this point in this state on my position related to sports gambling, especially at it connects to college sports gambling," Whitman said. "I think the situation at Texas Tech is unfortunate on a lot of different levels. Starting with the young man. Obviously, it's been well-documented. It's not a ruse, (and) it's not a facade. I think he has a problem."
The Sorsby case leads to Whitman's broader concerns he has for the system of college athletics.
"If we don't have integrity in our contests, then we very quickly become professional wresting," Whitman said. "That is something we cannot allow to happen. That's the reason that particular rule has always been put up on a pedestal above the other rules because from the beginning of time, people know that thing puts in jeopardy the entire mode. I'm fearful of it."
The amount of gambling on sports worries Whitman. The NCAA has provided data to show how much gambling is happening on college campuses.
"We would be naive to pretend none of our student-athletes are participating in improper gambling," Whitman said. "So how can we put in place a system that at worst disincentivizes it? At best, catches it. That's something we're working through."
During the upcoming school year, Whitman plans to emphasize the educational programming.
Illinois is a client of a service that helps flag any improper gambling activity by people connected to the program.
"It's a major point of concern. I hope we can continue to find ways to at least mitigate against those concerns," Whitman said. "I don't think sports gambling is going away. But how can we be more thoughtful in the system that we have built to try and protect our students-athletes the best we can?"