Illinois coach Bret Bielema confirmed in his Monday media conference that Brandon Henderson (lower body injury, is out Saturday vs. Duke.
By Matt Stevens - IlliniGuys Football Writer/Analyst
September 7, 2026
CHAMPAIGN — The only consistent returning starter from the Illinois offensive will be inactive for this weekend’s game against Duke.
Brandon Henderson, the fourth-year offensive guard, is out this Saturday (2:30 p.m. CST, FS1) against Duke after suffering a severe lower-body injury last week in the 42-23 win over Alabama-Birmingham. Illinois head coach Bret Bielema confirmed the injury status of the 320-pound offensive lineman on Monday in his weekly media conference inside Gies Memorial Stadium.
“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].”
Bielema also said on Monday the lower-body “soft tissue” injury to Platt, who missed the final week of preseason camp and the season-opening win over UAB, will continue to keep the 6-foot-1 receiver on the inactive list. The Illini head coach said “there might be a shot” for Daniel Brown to be active on Saturday as the linebacker, who was projected to start at middle linebacker upon the arrival of new Illinois defensive coordinator in February, as he’d been dealing with an ongoing back issue throughout preseason camp.
Henderson, who was slotted into a reworked Illini offensive line unit at right guard this season, suffered the injury early in the fourth quarter of the win over UAB after playing 39 of Illinois’ 44 offensive snaps. With just over 14 minutes remaining in the contest, the former Class 6A all-state honorable mention selection out of East St. Louis (Ill.) High School was pulling into the left guard/center gap for what resulted in a four-yard run by Aidan Laughery when his right foot/ankle appeared to unintentionally get rolled up from behind by bodies of team teams. Henderson was able to slowly limp into the injury tent on the home sideline but never returned to the game.
Henderson made his 20th career start at right guard over the last three seasons on Thursday night.
T.J. McMillen, a fourth-year reserve player who has focused his playing time in the first three years as a backup center behind then-veteran starter Josh Kreutz, immediately subbed in for Henderson and played the final five snaps of the game at right guard.
Bielema was more hesitant to confirm on Monday that McMillen would be the replacement on Saturday to replace Henderson in the starting five up front and suggested 23-year-old Dezmond Schuster could be a possible option.
“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 was granted a medical waiver from the NCAA to play his sixth season at Illinois in May after being granted medical clearance to play late in the spring. Schuster was a transfer from Hutchinson (Kan.) Community College who arrived to Illinois before the 2023 season but a medical condition that was feared to be life-threatening kept him from being active at all for the 2023 campaign. Schuster, who was rated the No. 2 interior offensive prospect from the junior college ranks in the 2023 class, has only played in nine total games over the past two seasons due to various injury issues.
Bielema said last month he expected the 335-pounder to provide instant depth to an offensive line unit that has three new starters for the 2026 campaign and a right tackle [Nathan Knapik] with just one start (in the Music City Bowl win over Tennessee) in his career.
“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. 3. “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.”
