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[SEC MEDIA DAYS] New father Bret Bielema welcomes first child; talks scoring as a dad

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HOOVER, Ala. – After leading Iowa to a Big Ten title as a player in his senior year, Bret Bielema followed his football passion into coaching. He spent the next dozen years as an assistant before taking the reigns at Wisconsin for seven years. In 2017, he enters his fifth season at Arkansas. He has a compiled a more than respectable 93-50 record with only a single losing season. He has shared in four league trophies and ten bowl appearances.

The 47-year-old Bielema has seen it all, right?

Not hardly.

Last Saturday morning at 4:44 a.m.,his wife Jen gave birth to their first child, Briella Nicole Bielema.

“Wow! My wife. Jen, is a trooper, she wanted to deliver naturally; 26 hours of labor,” Bielema told reporters Monday at the opening of SEC Media Days.

The first-time father said his new-found parenthood truly came to life while driving to his rural home outside of Fayettevlle. “I looked in the rearview mirror and saw Briella in the child seat and immediately started looking for every possum on the road,” he said.

His grueling schedule has not gone unnoticed by his players. “He hasn’t had much sleep, but he is okay. Congrats; I am happy for him,” said QB Austin Allen after he observed the hour long flight from Fayetteville.

In a typical Bielema response, he said one of the advantages has been all his interviews started “without questions concerning controversy.”  They were all about his baby girl.

Those familiar with the Razorback Nation know ‘Woo Pig Sooie’ is a cheer that the entire state embraces daily. But, when asked what his daughter’s first words would be, he didn’t think about football.

He thought about his wife, Jen.

“Mama,” he stated simply.

Matt Coulter for SylacaugaNews.com | © 2017, SylacaugaNews.com/Marble City Media LLC. All Rights Reserved.


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