Bret Bielema Sends Cryptic Message on Heels of Losing QB Commit to Michigan

Illinois coach Bret Bielema disputes a call in the first quarter of the Music City Bowl against Tennessee in an NCAA football game on Dec. 30, 2025, in Nashville, Tennessee. Andrew Nelles / The Tennessean / USA TODAY NETWORK via Imagn Images

Bret Bielema Sends Cryptic Message on Heels of Losing QB Commit to Michigan

Originally posted on Michigan Wolverines on SI
By Seth Berry | Last updated Apr 16, 2026 2:02 PM ET

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Earlier this week, Michigan landed four-star quarterback commit Kamden Lopati just after the West Valley City, Utah native decommitted from Illinois.

When On3's Josh Henschke reported last week on Lopati's visit and that the Wolverines were feeling good about their chances to flip him, Illinois head coach Bret Bielema took to X (formerly Twitter) to quote tweet Henschke and post a cryptic message regarding the situation.

"Been hearing several million different things..anything specific?" Bielema asked in his post regarding what Henschke and the Maize & Blue Review staff were hearing about Lopati after his multi-day visit to Ann Arbor.

Mark Hoffman/Milwaukee Journal Sentinel / USA TODAY NETWORK via Imagn Images

As it turned out, Bielema saw the writing on the wall after Lopati's visit to Michigan to earlier this month and took to social media to seemingly let out those frustrations.

This wouldn't be the first time the Illinois coach took to X to complain about something Michigan related, however.

In 2022, after the Wolverines defeated Illinois 19-17 late in the season, Bielema also took to social media to point out what he thought was a missed call on a fourth down play late in the game when J.J. McCarthy completed a pass to walk-on running back Isaiah Gash with Blake Corum and Donovan Edwards out with injuries.

Bielema thought a pick play/offensive pass interference was missed and made the post after a fiery postgame presser after the loss.

"I’m extremely pissed off," Bielema said. "Very angry. Very upset," Bielema said after the game. "Think our kids did a lot to win the football game and to continually have things go against us, very frustrating. You have to stand up for the people you believe in. I believe in that locker room big time. I know they’ll rise up to the challenge once again."

What is Bielema's gripe about Lopati?

Reading between the lines, it seems like Bielema is complaining about whatever Michigan's NIL offer ending up being to Lopati and him pinning money as the primary reason for the flip.

It's impossible to say that for sure as Bielema doesn't post that verbatim, but it surely seems like that's what he is implying in this case.

Surely, NIL is an obvious factor at play in this era of college football for top level recruits, but there are a number of factors that come into the equation when players choose schools.

This just looks like another case of Bielema being salty about another Michigan-related topic.