With four starters to replace and a veteran transfer center not available this spring, a set starting five is not a priority for Illinois offensive line coach Bart Miller.

By Matt Stevens - IlliniGuys Football Writer/Analyst

April 8, 2026

(Cover photo courtesy Illinois Athletics)

CHAMPAIGN — Neither Bart Miller nor his boss, Illinois head coach Bret Bielema, have an expectation of knowing the starting offensive line lineup before the end of the spring practice season.

With seventh-year transfer Jake Renfro, a center from Cincinnati and Wisconsin who was specifically signed to take over Josh Kreutz three-year starting spot at center, unable to physically perform this spring and a long list of inexperience rotating into the first two units, Miller has hopes of getting the primary offense installed and worked before the final practice concludes on April 22.

“Every year has a new variance and these guys need to showcase some ownership in what this offense will be. We’ve slowed down the install quite a bit with so many new faces with various levels of experience either anywhere or just experience in general,” Miller said. “We need to, after looking at self-scouts, add complements to the run game and to the protections of what we do.”

Starting with the known is a lot less time-consuming process for Miller as he, along with Bielema, enter his sixth season at Illinois but the Illini offensive line coach is using these 15 practices to find answers to the replacements for J.C. Davis, Melvin Priestley, Josh Gesky and Josh Kreutz. Miller reconfirmed on Wednesday, in a media session inside the Smith Center, that his plan for Brandon Henderson, the one returning starter at Illinois, is to get him more expertise at the footwork and physicality of the right guard spot he had 12 starts at in 2025.

In previous August preseason practices or last spring, Henderson has been manipulated around to getting reps at all five offensive line spots, including last spring when he took the first attempt at center in his football life, but Miller has concluded continuing that philosophy would do more harm than good. Using the example of Isaiah Adams where he was forced to play outside at right tackle in his final year at Illinois instead of excelling at his natural position at guard, where he’s been at for 16 starts over the last two seasons with the Arizona Cardinals of the National Football League, Miller doesn’t want to hinder the growth by continuing to exploit his versatility.

“I know I say that every year but trust me, I’m really doing it this offseason with (Henderson),” Miller said with a laugh. “We feel like we have two years invested with him in that position of right guard. Because of the development and depth we have at the tackle spots, we feel great about keeping him at guard and we feel can really take his game to another level.”

It appears the other Brandon has been impressing coaches early in this spring season as Brandon Hansen is making a play to lock down the guard spot opposite of Henderson on the left side. Bielema has seemingly volunteered Hansen’s name to local reporters during every media hit he’s done this spring and that should come to no surprise as the Illini coach was telling whoever would listen that he was one of the most impressive signees of the 2004 recruiting class. Miller has been waiting for Hansen, who despite entering his third season doesn’t turn 20 years old until August, to develop maturity in his practice and workout habits before considering him for a first-team look.

Renfro’s lack of a physical presence this spring, as he continues to rehab a lower-body injury that required a surgical procedure ending his 2025 season at Wisconsin to just four games, has opened the door for fourth-year center TJ McMillen to find first-team reps. McMillen got his first career start at center against Purdue last October and isn’t giving up the idea of winning that starting center spot by this August. With Renfro only being able to physically start in 23 games over his past six seasons at Cincinnat and Wisconsin, having McMillen as a veteran presence to help install Barry Lunney Jr.’s offense this spring isn’t the worst option right now.

“He’s somebody who has obviously played a lot of football but I should say that playing behind Kreutz like did really has prepared me for everything that goes into being a leader on this unit and I’ve really tried to show that starting this spring,” McMillen said.

The two tackle spots look to be dominated by a returnee who impressed in the Music City Bowl victory and a transfer they hope can have a J.C. Davis-type adaption to being a left tackle for a Big Ten Conference program.

Nathan Knapik, who excelled in an emergency spot in the bowl game against Tennessee when Davis opted out of the game to begin his NFL draft preparation, is seeing time this spring where he repped in practice during the 2025 season - right tackle.

“I think the bowl game obviously gave him confidence and I know it gave us confidence in him,” Miller said. “He provides a lot of positional flexibility in the sense that we feel like he can handle both sides and it allows us to mix and match what we do at guard and in the second and third-team spots as well.”

The hope is being able to plug in Knapik at the right tackle spot will open up a competition on the left side led by Christian Martin, who started all 12 games at left tackle for Colorado State, as the 6-foot-7, 300-pound fourth-year athlete begins to learn the anchor spot in Miller’s offensive line.

“He’s had to learn how we do things here because it was a very different offense and then we’ve had to rework some fundamentals and some technique since he got here,” Miller said. “He is very coachable and so, it’s good that after every practice I can honestly say he’s gotten a little better than he was the previous one.”