CHAMPAIGN - A little R&R did the Illini well.

Illinois football coach Lovie Smith allowed his team to rest and relax through most of its bye week, and the team has come out “as healthy as we’ve been in a while,” Smith said Monday.

“I assume we’re going to have just about everyone ready to go (against Nebraska on Friday)," Smith said, "which is a big deal."

The offensive line, a big weakness for the Illini (2-1) through three games, receives the biggest boost.

Redshirt freshman center Doug Kramer Jr., who started Week One, is expected to return from a knee sprain.

“He’s ready to go,” offensive coordinator Garrick McGee said.

Freshman offensive tackle Larry Boyd may return as well after a scare during a Week Three loss at South Florida.

“Larry had the ankle injury but he’s back at practice this week,” McGee said.

The Illini will also add another burly freshman to the OL depth chart. Vederian Lowe has been cleared to play after missing all of training camp and the first three weeks of the season with a knee injury. Like with most of its freshmen — Illinois has played 18 true freshmen this season — the Illini do not seem shy of burning Lowe’s redshirt possibility.

“Very talented,” McGee said of the 6-foot-5, 340-pound Rockford Auburn product. “Him and Larry are a lot alike. We’re really happy with Vederian. Yeah, we’re going to see him out there.”

The Illini also will add a weapon to a struggling offense with running back Reggie Corbin returning to practice. The elusive redshirt sophomore, who totaled 523 rushing yards (6.1 yards per carry) and 112 receiving yards last season, missed all of training camp and the first three weeks of the season.

“He does a lot for the offense,” McGee said. “You add a weapon to the field. Reggie is a weapon. He can run and make those cuts that you really can’t teach. It’s really good to have him back out there. He’s hungry to get back out there for Big Ten play.”

Even Dre Brown is close to availability, Smith said. The redshirt sophomore running back missed the past two seasons after suffering tears to ACL tears in each knee. He has run onto the field in an Illinois uniform.

“He’s healthy,” Smith said. “Heading in that direction of being 100 percent ready to go.”

One player back from suspension, one goes on suspension

As soon as the Illini got a key defender back from suspension, another rotation player was put on suspension.

Senior defensive end James Crawford will be available this Friday against Nebraska after serving a three-game suspension for violation of team rules. But redshirt junior Tito Odenigbo is now on an indefinite suspension for a violation of team rules.

Crawford, a speedy edge rusher, played both defensive back and linebacker in previous seasons before transitioning to defensive end late last season. But the Illini have high expectations for the athletic senior.

“Arguably, definitely one of the best players on our team,” Smith said. “To add a player like that to the mix is big for us.”

Added Hardy Nickerson: “He adds that rush ability. He’s probably our best defensive end. To play three games without him, that’s pretty big. We’re excited about getting him back. I’m sure he’s going to have an immediate impact on our defense on Friday night.”

The suspension of Odenigbo, a backup DT who has eight tackles and 0.5 tackles for loss through three games, thins a solidly deep position for the Illini.

“It makes it a little bit lighter,” Nickerson said. “But (starter) Tymir Oliver has played pretty well. So has Kenyon Jackson. Those guys have played pretty good. Jamal Woods has played pretty good for us, and Jamal Milan has done a pretty good job. Those guys, they’ll just have to carry a few more bricks this week in getting the job done.”

Asked if Odenigbo’s suspension could push freshmen Kendrick Green or Lere Oladipo — neither has played yet — into service, Nickerson said: “Those guys are there. They’re backup players. We’ll see how it goes.”

‘No change has been made’ at QB

With outside speculation about an Illinois quarterback controversy, Smith referred to sophomore quarterback Jeff George%20Jr. — a backup through three games who replaced starter Jeff George Jr. during the USF game — as the Illini’s “relief hitter.”

“You go to your relief hitter when you want something different than you’ve been getting,” Smith said. “I think that’s what he’ll provide for us if we decide to use him in that way.”

So is George Jr. still the relief hitter?

“I’d say,” Smith said. “He came in as our relief hitter last week. When I say relief hitter, we have quarterbacks on our team like we have a lot of players on our team. In that game, we asked Jeff to be our relief hitter. Yes. That’s been his role since he’s been here. We’re not making, no change has been made or anything like that.”