Antonio Fenelus is a family man. He likes to play catch and go to the batting cage with his oldest son and do flips in the yard with his second-oldest. In a job that demands long hours and several days and weeks away from home, Fenelus always tries to find time to spend with his wife and four kids, regardless of his work duties.

So, it only made sense for Fenelus to make the move to Champaign to join the Illinois famILLy and reconnect with some of his football family from his playing days at Wisconsin, coming onto the Fighting Illini coaching staff as the defensive backs coach on Dec. 30, 2022.

Fenelus played under current Illini head coach Bret Bielema during his time with the Badgers, and he competed alongside Illinois defensive coordinator Aaron Henry throughout his four years in Madison. He also represented Wisconsin while Bart Miller and Terrance Jamison were early into their respective coaching careers.

Given their history, Fenelus has kept in touch with Jamison, Henry, and Bielema since leaving Wisconsin, bringing valuable chemistry to a reloaded defensive coaching staff that looks to build on an exquisite 2022 campaign.

"I've known all those guys for a long time, but to get a chance to work with them has been pretty awesome," Fenelus said. "You talk about guys who are very knowledgeable of the game and constantly forcing me to make sure I'm on top of my stuff. They elevate my game. They also have been really good mentors, helped me get adjusted to what it's like to coach here at Illinois and learn the standard of what we're looking for at the university."

Despite last season's successes in the secondary, which included three 2023 NFL picks and leading the nation in interceptions, Fenelus is prepared to bring his own personality and style, and he's used the winter and spring to develop relationships with his players. 

He views these connections and relationships as pivotal when it comes to developing sustainable success, especially when taking on a group with sky-high expectations.

"It's all about relationships," Fenelus said. "Kids want to play hard for a guy they know they can trust and a coach who's going to have the best interest for them at the end of the day. When I first got here, my main goal was to build a relationship with all these kids, to make sure they understand I was going to love on him, but I was going to coach them hard at the same time.

"I care about them as human beings, not only as a 'what can you do for me on the football field?' That's not what it's all about. We just want to help these kids grow in life."

Prior to his tenure with Illinois, Fenelus has bounced around ever since earning first-team all-conference honors and winning Big Ten titles in 2010 and 2011. He was signed to the Indianapolis Colts as an undrafted free agent, and he spent time with the Canadian Football League's Saskatchewan Roughriders and the Arizona Rattlers of the Arena Football League. 

After earning his bachelor's degree in 2013, Fenelus served as a graduate assistant working with the defensive backs at his alma mater from 2015-17 before completing his master's degree in 2018. He spent 2018-20 as the defensive coordinator and defensive backs coach at East Central University, a Division-II school in Oklahoma, prior to moving back to the D-I level at LSU.

With coaching and playing experience at the collegiate and professional levels, Fenelus knows what it takes to win championships and compete among the best in the conference. As he embarks a new challenge with the Orange and Blue, he is ready to take the Big Ten by storm once again, albeit in a different role with a different team.

"For me, I always try to ask the guys, what are their ultimate goals? That's how I start off with my coaching. What are my expectations? What are your expectations? What are your goals?" Fenelus said. "I try to guide them in that way. If you're saying you want to be a draft pick, if you're saying you want to be all-conference, that's how I'm going to coach you. That's how I'm going to help develop you. 

"They were really successful last year. The DBs played really well. Our overall goal is to be on that same level, not even talking about draft picks but to just play at a high standard. We're trying to find a group of guys who are going to help elevate us and play at the same standard as it was last year."