A scary moment came in the 1st quarter of the B1G opener between Illinois and No. 14 Wisconsin on Friday night, with Illini linebacker Jake Hansen needing to leave the field after suffering an apparent head injury.

Hansen filled a gap on a 4th-and-short trying to force Wisconsin into a turnover on downs. After a hard hit, Hansen struggled to his feet and stumbled while on the field. The linebacker needed to be helped off the field by his teammates and the Illinois training staff.

Following a brief stop to the medical tent, Hansen went to the Illinois locker room. His injury was not mentioned, but it was noted that the staff was doing some cognitive testing with the linebacker.

Last season, Hansen was one of the top tacklers for the Fighting Illini. He racked up 72 stops with 7.5 tackles for loss and 3.5 sacks. He also forced 7 fumbles and had an interception.

With fellow linebacker Milo Eifler out for the 1st half due to a targeting penalty from the Redbox Bowl at the end of the 2019 season, Illinois is depleted at the position for the remainder of the half.

Hopefully all is well with Hansen.