Illinois will be without its most established returning starter on the offensive line when Duke comes to town Saturday.
Brandon Henderson, the fourth-year right guard, is out after suffering a severe lower-body injury in last week’s 42-23 win over Alabama-Birmingham, Illinois coach Bret Bielema said Monday in his weekly media conference inside Gies Memorial Stadium. Henderson, who played 39 of Illinois’ 44 offensive snaps against UAB, was hurt early in the fourth quarter and did not return.
“I do think [Henderson] will be back for us sooner rather than later but he won’t be with us this week unless there is a miraculous recovery,” Bielema said Monday. “He’s done a really great job getting it back in the last 48 hours but it’ll be something where it’s a week-by-week situation.
Could be as short as two weeks. Could be as long as four to six (weeks).
(The recovery) will be along the same lines as Jayshon [Platt’s].”
The injury came on a run play with just over 14 minutes left, when Henderson was pulling into the left guard/center gap on a four-yard gain by Aidan Laughery and his right foot/ankle appeared to get rolled up from behind. He limped to the injury tent on the home sideline and never came back.
Henderson made his 20th career start at right guard on Thursday night.
T.J. McMillen filled in immediately and handled the final five snaps at right guard, but Bielema stopped short of naming him the starter for Saturday’s 2:30 p.m.
CST game on FS1. Dezmond Schuster is also in the mix.
“T.J. obviously stepped in there and did some nice things but I think Dez Schuster has been working at right (guard),” Bielema said on Monday. “Ever since Dez has got here we’ve thought he was a big, athletic dude who just has had a lot of unfortunate injuries.
Dez is one of those guys where you can walk right by him and he could’ve just won the lotto and you would never know it. He’s a very flat-line guy and I like that about him.”
Schuster received a medical waiver from the NCAA in May to play his sixth season at Illinois after being cleared late in the spring. A transfer from Hutchinson (Kan.)
Community College, he arrived before the 2023 season but a medical condition that was feared to be life-threatening kept him out that year. He was rated the No. 2 interior offensive prospect from the junior college ranks in the 2023 class and has played only nine total games over the last two seasons because of injuries.
Bielema had said last month that he expected the 335-pound lineman to add immediate depth to an offensive line with three new starters for the 2026 campaign and right tackle Nathan Knapik, who has just one career start, coming off the Music City Bowl win over Tennessee.
“Super excited for Dez. He’s a guy that since he’s come here we’ve known can do a lot of things athletically very well,” Bielema said on Aug.
- “He’s a guy who has always put himself in a position and then had a setback, usually a medical setback.
I actually kept [Illinois offensive line coach Bart Miller] off the road (recruiting) intentionally so he could personally be around [Schuster] and get him physically ready for this. It gives us added depth obviously.”
Bielema also said Monday that lower-body “soft tissue” injury to Jayshon Platt will keep the 6-foot-1 receiver inactive, while there “might be a shot” for Daniel Brown to play. Brown, a linebacker who had been projected to start at middle linebacker after the arrival of Illinois’ new defensive coordinator in February, has been dealing with an ongoing back issue throughout preseason camp.
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Illinois Is Counting On Joe Barna In A Much Bigger Role
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His rise has come with a little extra uncertainty, though, after shoulder surgery kept him out of spring practice. Even so, Barna was back in the lineup to start and play well in the 2026 season opener, and Illinois is now counting on him to take on a much bigger role as the defense leans on proven edge help and continued development up front. [Read more 🡒]