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Despite falling short of a College Football Playoff berth, the Illinois Fighting Illini football team appears poised to finish the season with nine wins once again if they can beat the Tennessee Volunteers Dec. 30 in Nashville.
Marking the program's third bowl appearance in five years under coach Bret Bielema, the need for a fast turnaround to prep for next fall is unlike anything Bielema has gone through in his coaching career.
“There is so many venues now and ways that we are notified that a player may be interested. Our roster is comprised of three key components: retention, removal and acquisition,” Bielema told reporters. "Retention is what I am going through right now, I think I met with 68 of our players. I got about another 30 left that I will get with next week. That is obviously a big part of retention.”
But, Bielema is strictly focused on where his team currently sits and trusts the rest will take care of itself regardless of the game's outcome.
This even includes players who Bielema recognizes won't be returning.
“I wanted them to play and they are going to play. If you started this season and you want to play, that is obviously a decision you can make,” Bielema said. “As long as we mutually agree to it, that [option] will be there.”
But, once January hints, Bielema's focus will return to roster building.
"Obviously you guys have seen, some of the guys [announce their decisions] — even though the portal doesn’t open until January 2nd — there’s a couple guys that have removed themselves already and won’t be with us,” Bielema said. “I probably have another six to 10 guys that have expressed to me that they will probably be in the portal after the bowl game.”
With more movement on the horizon, roster retention is far from over for next fall and Illinois is another team that will definitely go through it especially after quarterback Luke Altmyer takes his final snap.
There is definitely more to come, but for now, Bielema seems content with where his team is.
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