Football
Illinois Football heads into Duke matchup with minimal injuries
How Healthy Are the Illini Entering a Crucial Week Two Showdown with Duke?
The Illinois Football program wasted little time moving past its Week One blowout of Western Illinois.
Following their warm-up 52-3 victory over the leathernecks to kick off the 2025 season, Bret Bielema‘s 12th-ranked squad now turns its full attention to a massive Week Two showdown with Manny Diaz and the Duke Blue Devils. Undoubtedly, a matchup that could set the tone for the rest of the Illini’s hopeful 2025 season.
Duke comes in at 1-0 after pulling away from Elon with a dominant second half to secure a 45-17 win at home. Like Illinois, the Blue Devils are a program on the rise under Diaz. The former Miami head coach and Penn State defensive coordinator view this matchup as a prime opportunity to make a statement to the nation.
Traveling to Durham will certainly test Illinois’ preparation and depth, in addition to giving Illini fans a first glimpse into how this roster stacks up against another quality opponent that’s generating some early-season buzz.
Of course, being all hands on deck is going to be critical for Illinois’ veteran roster, and the early health report is encouraging. According to Bielema, the Illini should be close to full strength heading into Durham, and in terms of health, well-positioned to handle one of its first real tests of the 2025 campaign.
Illinois Football Week 2 Injury Report, Per Bret Bielema
According to Bielema, the Illini walked away from Friday’s win over Western Illinois mostly healthy.
“Got out of Western Illinois fairly healthy,” said Bielema. “Nothing really of significance.”
He continued, “A couple of guys had some things on Saturday, but to have that extra day to prep, and then obviously today (9/1) with the holiday, we can kind of take advantage of an NCAA rule that allows our guys to come over today and work a little bit more. So, we’ll get with them.”
Jahiem “Juice” Clark – Hamstring
While there’s a chance the Illini could add depth to Corey Parker’s defensive back rotation ahead of their tough road matchup with Duke, Bielema tempered expectations on just how likely that is.
When asked by Illini Inquirer’s Joey Wagner if talented junior DB Jaheim ‘Juice’ Clark might return following a hamstring injury, Bielema said…”There is a chance, yep. They didn’t want to rule it out.” He continued, “Juice did start running, but he isn’t cleared for practice tomorrow. If we haven’t had him out of practice by Thursday, I don’t know that he’ll be at the game. The good thing – as bad as it is, we’d love to have Juice with us – but, unfortunately, he strained that thing probably two weeks out from gameday. So, he’s been recovering for a long time. He had not been with us game plan-wise for the last two weeks, so, that allowed a lot of guys to get reps.”
Ayden Knapik – Knee
Despite a slight scare from Illini right tackle Melvin Priestly, who left the game for a short period of time to nurse a lower leg injury, but did return, coach Bart Miller’s front five and depth remain intact ahead of their big week two matchup. In fact, they could soon be adding another key rotational piece, as Idaho transfer Ayden Knapik works his way back into fighting shape from a knee injury. However, his return appears to be just a little longer down the road.
“Ayden had surgery, I believe two weeks ago….” said the Illini head coach. “Projected to be out 3-6 weeks, so I don’t think he’ll be with us this week. But, there is a good chance he could be with us for sure by Big Ten play.”
