At 6:45 Wednesday morning, Jonathan Brown was in the film room with Illinois’ two freshmen linebackers, Mason Monheim and Mike Svetina. It was surprising for Illinois head coach Tim Beckman because team meetings don’t start until 7:40 a.m., but the three were dissecting film before most coaches had arrived at Memorial Stadium.

This was unusual, especially considering that Beckman ruled Brown out of Saturday’s game against Purdue, the team’s last home game in the disappointing season. Brown suffered a shoulder injury against Ohio State on Nov. 3.

“I think that speaks about Jonathan Brown and what he means not just to the team, but what he does outside of just playing football,” Beckman said. “He wants to help, he wants to provide as much knowledge as he possibly can.”

Last week against Minnesota, Brown was forced to stand on the sideline in his letterman’s jacket, dark jeans and often stood on a chair to watch the game on the scoreboard.

“He tries to act like it doesn’t hurt him that much,” Monheim said. “But I can tell. It’s hurting him.”

Illinois is going to miss one of its best defensive players and before his injury, its leading tackler. This is the first time since coming to Illinois that Brown has had to miss extended time because of injuries. He had been hampered by an ankle injury all season long. Defensive coordinator Tim Banks said it sometimes looked like Brown was playing on one leg.

Beckman also wasn’t sure if Brown will be able to play next week, saying he’s “crossing his fingers.”

The junior linebacker has a chance to play in the NFL and would have to make a decision if he wants to enter the NFL Draft. That decision could be made a little easier if an injury doesn’t allow him to play again this season, which would damage his draft stock.

With Brown’s injury, Monheim and Svetina will have to continue to step up for the Illini. Monheim, this week’s Big Ten Freshman of the Week, said Brown is one of the biggest reasons he doesn’t feel like a first-year player anymore.

“He’s in there, obviously he’s not on the field with me, so he’s in there watching the film and just talking to me on the sideline,” Monheim said. “Just talking to me and getting me comfortable.”

The challenge facing the Illini this week is Purdue quarterback Robert Marve. Last week, the sixth-year quarterback, who has torn the ACL in his left knee, threw for 266 yards and two touchdowns. He led the Boilermakers down the field for a game-winning field goal against Iowa.

Marve’s ACL injury occurred in a game against a Beckman-coached Toledo team. Beckman remembers it as a “nasty hit,” although not illegal, and was impressed by his ability to come back.

“He’s got that football knowledge. He understands the game, and you can see what he did in that last series against Iowa,” Beckman said. “That sixth year, that’s a neat thing.”

Jamal can be reached at [email protected] and @jamalcollier.