Figuring out new-look Terrapins easier said than done
· Yahoo Sports
Oct. 30—CHAMPAIGN — Get ready for anything.
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That's the approach Illinois football coach Bret Bielema is taking going into an 11 a.m. Saturday kickoff at Maryland.
Since they last played on Oct. 17, losing 37-30 at Rutgers, the Terrapins have dumped Bielema's friend, Mike Locksley, and replaced him on an interim basis with Aazaar Abdul-Rahim.
"When the transition happened at first, my thing was with Locks." Bielema said on Thursday at the Smith Center. "Before that happened with Locks, they had let their defensive coordinator go."
Prior to becoming Maryland's interim coach, Abdul-Rahim had been named defensive coordinator. Lots of moving parts.
"I've been very impressed with him," Bielema said. "I've met him, but don't know him well."
Before his departure, Locksley had been involved with the offense under the direction of coordinator Clint Trickett, who joined the program in February.
"It's probably been the first time for him as an OC that doesn't have Locksley in that meeting with him," Bielema said. "So, that's going to bring another dynamic."
The game feels more like an opener than one in Week 9.
"I told our guys the other day, 'Offense, defense, special teams, you're going to see something new and different,'" Bielema said. "It's a bye week with a new group of coaches. We've got to rely on what we do. We have to make in-game adjustments."
Have the Illini been good about adjusting?
"We'll see on Saturday," Bielema said, "but I think our guys have been very proactive."
Bielema said the Maryland program seems to be "all on the same page."
"One of the things as a head coach I learned early is the more the messaging is the same, usually the results are that way," Bielema said. "I've got to give their guys credit. Their coaches are all saying the same message."
Planning ahead
After Saturday's game, Illinois will have a short week to get ready for a Friday night home game against Nebraska.
"Our kids aren't involved in scheduling," Bielema said, "but I want to set the tone for what we do."
When the team returns from College Park, Md., later on Saturday, it will quickly turn toward the next assignment. Illinois plays consecutive Friday night games, the first at home against the Cornhuskers and the second at UCLA on Nov. 13.
"I really try to get them to understand what a Tuesday is, what a Wednesday is, what a Thursday is, what a Friday is," Bielema said. "Because we are going to pull one out next week. It's just part of the process with these guys."
Bielema said he appreciates how much his players "buy in to getting better."
"Obviously, there were some bumps in the road as a team, as a unit, offense, defense, special teams," he said, "and I've thought they've just continued to climb forward."
Nothing to see here
Illinois quarterback Katin Houser, who broke his right hand at Michigan State on Oct. 10 that knocked him out of lineup, is listed as doubtful on the team's injury report to the Big Ten.
That is an upgrade from "out" as Houser was listed before Illinois hosted Oregon last Saturday.
"If anybody can participate in activities, you have to list him as something," Bielema said. "This week, he's able to come and join us to go through things. Didn't do anything Tuesday at all. Was at practice."
Houser has been in meetings with his replacement Michael Clayton II and backup Carson Boyd.
"That's one of the things that just made another big statement to me about who Katin Houser is," Bielema said. "He was really involved with Michael last week and probably even more this week."
Bielema didn't give a time frame on Houser's return.
"He's thrown, but not to the level of what it was," Bielema said.