The transfer portal is a wild ride no matter the program, but thankfully, the Illinois football team has a great leader at the helm.
On Saturday, it was announced that the Illini were losing a former top recruit. Malik Elzy has decided to redshirt and take the year off before departing for the transfer portal.
This news was disappointing but not shocking. Elzy had played in four games, and that is the limit before deciding on a redshirt for a season. Instead of playing the year out, Elzy saved a year of his eligibility, and he will now be with a new team in 2026.
Bret Bielema took this news in stride. In the postgame press conference, he talked about the transfer portal departure.
“We started this year with a roster that we felt really strong about, and if someone doesn’t want to be a part of that and wants to redshirt, then I can’t keep them.”
This isn’t Bielema’s first transfer portal departure. He took over the Illinois football program when the transfer portal was just becoming a thing, and his mentality toward the shifting of the college landscape has been spot on.
Bielema has no hard feelings toward Elzy, and in fact, he has been a true professional throughout. When Illinois talks about “famILLy,” it isn’t just a slogan; it is a way of life.
“He and I had a great conversation, and I love Malik. I will help him with whatever his next step or next journey is. We had a very detailed conversation over a couple of days. Love the kid to death.”
Bret Bielema does a great job juggling the Illinois football responsibilities and the human development aspect of being a coach
It can’t be easy for someone like Bielema to see a player depart the program. He goes into their living rooms and says this and that about coming to Illinois and being great. I am sure he feels a sense of letting Elzy and his family down.
“I am actually leaving that conversation pissed because I couldn’t get him to be successful the way he wanted. As a head coach, he is an incredible kid from the Chicagoland area that I would recruit 100 times over again, and I just want him to be successful.”
I think it is impressive and says a lot about Bielema, not just as a coach but as a person, not to feel burnt by Elzy. You put all of this time and resources into getting him into the program and having him for three seasons, only to have him depart.
Quite the opposite is true for Bielema. He wants to see all of his players, current and former, succeed in life. Win or lose, that is what I want with my head coach at Illinois.
“Some of the conversations after he told me what he wanted to do, I said man, all I want to do is for you to have success. I don’t care where it is at or where it is going to be or what it is going to be and what it entails, I want you to be successful.”
Elzy is now off to greener pastures. He is going to transfer to another program, my guess is a non-power four program. While his departure is sad, it is always nice to see the reaction of our head coach. Bielema has the right mentality when it comes to the transfer portal. His leadership with this program is second to none.