Illinois Fighting Illini head coach Bret Bielema burst onto the college football season in year one with the Wisconsin Badgers, when his team went 12-1 including a victory in the Capital One Bowl, finishing in the top ten nationally. 

Bielema has been a hot coaching name ever since then, coaching seven years with the Badgers and five years with the Arkansas Razorbacks before moving onward to coach Illinois the last five seasons.

Now entering his sixth season, the expectations have increased with former Montana head coach Bobby Hauck in charge of the defense and Katin Houser quarterbacking the offense. 

On Tuesday, Hauck shared his honest thoughts on what Bielema does best and how he has impressed him thus far during his time in Champaign. 

Hauck explained that he has followed Bielema for years and previously coached against him, but working alongside him has been a different animal entirely. 

"Well, I've known him for a long time and observed him, coached against him, but actually working with coach has been a cool deal for me, to see how he does it," Hauck said to Tristan Thompson of WCIA3.

"You know everybody's got their own way and I've got deep appreciation for his thoroughness and attention to detail and the things he does, so that would be number one," he added. 

Hauck also shared the most impressive attribute of Bielema's coaching abilities that has made an impact on his mind so far. 

"I've never been around an individual who can multi-task like that guy can," Hauck added.

"He impresses me every day with his ability to handle everything going on. It's unbelievable what he can do," the Illini defensive coordinator concluded. 

Hauck has his work cut out for him as the 2026 college football season draws near. 

The Fighting Illini will start the season against the UAB Blazers on September 3 before tackling Duke and Southern Illinois the following two weeks. 

A September 26 road game against the Ohio State Buckeyes looks like the most daunting on Illinois' schedule and will test the Fighting Illini defense to its absolute limits.  

From there, Illinois will face teams with comparable talent levels for the rest of the season including against Michigan State on Oct. 10, Maryland on Oct. 31, Nebraska on Nov. 6, and Iowa on Nov. 21. 

A road game against Northwestern to close out the season on Nov. 28 could decide whether Illinois finishes off the season with another high end bowl game or is relegated to a lesser matchup. 

Hauck has a talented blend of youth, experience and athleticism to work with on defense including preseason All-Big Ten player Xavier Scott at safety. 

In a bygone era of college football, Hauck's maiden voyage with the Illini would be seen as a test run.

In today's win at all costs era saturated with transfer portal additions, Hauck will be held up to the microscope, and forced to produce from the get-go in Champaign.

As long as he continues to gel with Bielema, fans should expect positive results, but there will almost certainly be an adjustment period as Hauck prepares to find out first hand what the Big Ten is all about.