Months after his prized quarterback flipped to Michigan, Bret Bielema still hasn’t let it go. The Illinois head coach never named Kyle Whittingham directly, but it was pretty evident who he was talking about. The Michigan head coach reportedly poached Kamden Lopati, Illinois’ top 2027 recruit, right after taking over at Ann Arbor.
It took a lot of arm-twisting from the Illini to get Lopati to commit to Illinois, and his decommitment was quite a sting for HC Bielema. Most of the time, Bielema finds himself fighting to protect his QB. Not long ago, he was protecting Luke Altmyer from the Vols, who were trying to poach him, but Altmyer stayed, though Bielema eventually lost him to the transfer portal later. On an episode of the Pardon My Take podcast, while talking about NIL, Bielema also opened up about his QB steal.
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“We’re not gonna mention names or teams. But there’s a certain Barstool employee that was tied into Michigan, and they took one of my guys,” Bielema revealed. What makes Bielema’s anger burn hotter isn’t that he lost a recruit, but the way it happened. Kyle Whittigham, who spent more than two decades in Utah, building it into a blue blood, didn’t just out-recruit Illinois. He used his connections in Utah to target Lopati, a West Valley City native who had already been recruited by Michigan staff before Whittingham’s hire.
That’s the tactic Bielema can’t swallow: a veteran coach leveraging pre-existing relationships to steal a prized QB from a fellow Big Ten rival, all while nursing a $7.7 million salary that demands he win now. Besides, Bielema was locked in on Lopati’s recruitment from the beginning, showing utmost interest in the QB to make it clear he is their priority. The Illini secured an early pledge from the West Valley City (Utah) QB and had him safe and secured for 7 months until the spring arrived.
“I love the coaching staff and what coach B (Bret Bielema) is building,” Lopati told Rivals’ Greg Biggins. “I like the direction the program is going in. They treat us like family there and a high priority, and that means a lot.”
This feeling changed when elite programs began pursuing him after his high school performance: 2,671 yards, 34 touchdowns, and 8 interceptions. ESPN ranked him as the No.1 QB. Notre Dame, Michigan, and Georgia began their quest to flip the QB, and eventually, the Michigan Wolverines managed to do that after 2 months of persuasion. The Wolverines, with a new head coach appointed following Sherrone Moore’s exit, had to get a good QB on their roster. Lopati was extremely impressed by the culture in Michigan and, after a few visits to Ann Arbor, he decommitted from Illinois.
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It seems understandable why the head coach is still vocal about the loss. Lopati was the first QB commit from the class of 2027 for the Illini, while Michigan already had 5 commitments. Lopati is a talented player who possesses the dual-threat ability, which is why Bielema paid special attention to his recruitment.
For Lopati, it could have been a good start to his early career with the Illini, but again, the Wolverines have a proven track record of reaching the CFP, so the decision to flip is understandable. Meanwhile, Illinois is not backing down after losing the 4-star QB, as after his decommitment, the program has been on quite a recruiting trail to form its class of 2027.
Illinois recruiting trail for the class of 2027
Despite the loss, Bielema hasn’t slowed, and instead, he has picked up the pace on landing pledges. As the official visits commenced in June, Illinois got a commit from Ankeny Centennial (Iowa) TE Cade Newman. Illini TE coach Jared Elliott played a key role in securing the commitment shortly after joining the program. Newman is a 3-star TE and is also a top 20 recruit from Iowa.
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They also flipped a player from Montini, offensive lineman Gavin Ericson-Staton from Iowa State. Illinois flipped Staton from the Hawkeyes just a month after he committed to them in April. It was also a good win for the Illini after Kansas State, Minnesota, Missouri, and Oklahoma State were also on his trail.
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The post “Took One of My Guys”: $7.7M Big Ten Rival HC Rips Kyle Whittingham’s Michigan Tactics appeared first on EssentiallySports. Add EssentiallySports as a Preferred Source by clicking here.
