What Shane Beamer and Bret Bielema said in Monday's Citrus Bowl press conference

On the eve of the Cheez-It Citrus Bowl, South Carolina head coach Shane Beamer and Illinois head coach Bret Bielema spoke to the media in a joint press conference on Monday. Here’s what each coach had to say.

Shane Beamer

— It’s been a fantastic week and awesome time here at the Citrus Bowl. When South Carolina knew they were not going to the College Football Playoff, they worked hard to get to this bowl game. These are two teams who want to be here.

— With Illinois, you can tell they are about the right stuff and play the right way. Could easily be in the playoff.

— The players are fired up for this game. Should be a great matchup. It’s been a lot of fun this week.

— The leadership they returned on this year’s team, they’ll miss Kyle Kennard for the bowl game. But they’ve got multiple guys who have been here for a long time or are just older guys. At the EDGE position, Kennard and Dylan Stewart are the guys who get talked about the most, but they’ve been rotating six guys at the spot. Everyone’s gotta be better with Kennard not playing. It’ll be a challenge going up against Illinois’ offensive line.

— This bowl game shows that you have a lot of players who are invested in playing. His guys want to be here. It’s great you have an opportunity to come to Orlando for a week and they’ve been creating awesome moments. It’s just an awesome time. Hopes and prays bowl games won’t be affected in an adverse way as the CFP develops.

— This game is about finishing the season the right way, winning 10 games and sending the seniors out the right way. There’s no question you want to win this game to have momentum going into the offseason. To be able to sustain that momentum is important throughout the offseason. Imagines they’ll be picked fairly high in preseason rankings going into 2025. Both South Carolina and Illinois have bright futures.

— The running back room is coming together well. It’s not a lot of young players. Juju McDowell has made impactful plays since his first year back in 2021. He’s an older guy who’s played a lot of football. Oscar Adaway III is also an older guy who’s played a lot. Tomorrow will be an opportunity for Jawarn Howell and Matthew Fuller to show what they can do.

— As a team, they had higher expectations than anyone on the outside did. Week 2 against Kentucky, to go up there with a redshirt freshman quarterback and control the line of scrimmage like they did, he walked off the field that day not saying they would end the season on a six-game winning streak and go to Orlando, but he felt they were going to be pretty good.

— Bielema is very much a team builder in his opinion. Has followed his career for a long time. You really don’t know what your football team looks like until May. It’s hard to build a team through the offseason when you don’t know who’s going to be on your team until May. It’s chaos in college football. But he loves what he does and sees the positives in what he gets to do.

— It’s a challenge with the layoff. Bowl games are great because it gives you an extra spring practice. You’re really able to develop your roster but you don’t want to wear them out. In their minds, they were playing a playoff elimination game every week after the Alabama game, which takes a mental toll on you. Keeping the team motivated wasn’t hard. The big challenge was keeping the sharpness from a technique and fundamental standpoint.

— It all starts with high school recruiting for him. Likes the group he has coming in. Moving the signing day up was nice because you get to sign that class. You got your high school class signed and then you go out and attack the portal. Right now, they are “portaling” for positions they need.

— In regard to guys stepping up tomorrow, somebody is going to have to make plays from the running back room. Need one of those guys without a doubt.

— Brady Hunt will not play tomorrow.

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Bret Bielema

— Very excited for tomorrow. His guys are really wired into postseason play. Once you’re part of it, you get addicted to it more and more.

— Calls South Carolina one of the best in college football this season.

— To be on the verge of getting a 10th win is awesome for Illinois. Excited about the opportunity.

— Zahkari Franklin knew his role was going to be increased with a guy like Pat Bryant not playing in the bowl game. Should create a lot of opportunities for Illinois’ receivers. This is the stepping stone into next year.

— Bowl games have evolved so much. When they have kids on campus, he shows them his 1991 Rose Bowl ring next to a Super Bowl ring. Those are two cool rings but they both mean everything to him. His players want to be here and be a part of this game. Illinois insured their players for the entire season, not just this one game.

— The world you’re living in college football, your roster flips on a daily basis. This game is a catalyst to build into 2025 and beyond.

— Seth Coleman passed up on an NFL opportunity to come back for this year. Thinks he’ll be out there after dealing with some injuries.

— Halftime against Nebraska was the moment he knew this season could be a good one. To go on the road and play an undefeated Nebraska team at the time, win that game, it’s big. No one thought much about this team after going 5-7 last year.

— Every year has been uniquely different. But there has never been a time where a coach is wearing as many hats as he is now. What he doesn’t like about the job is the one misleading fact of graduation rates. Believes in graduating kids. When kids transfer from schools to schools, it throws off their graduation rates. The chance to play in the NFL is awesome but it is crazy to think a kid on the team could go play at another school for the first game next season. Doesn’t think every place is like that, though. Knows Beamer’s love for his team is real.

— It’s a unique time in college football with guys stepping up. He’s looking for the receivers to step up in this game. He’s really excited to watch those guys play as well as several guys at other positions. 

— It’s not unreal to think the Cam Ward situation may happen. That’s just the world we’re in with college football. You just have to be proactive in college football with that potentially happening. 

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