Illinois student-manager will dress for Illini on Saturday

Illinois head coach John Groce is reaching deep into his bench for healthy players — all the way to the end, in fact.

Ryan Schmidt, a student-manager for the Illini, will dress with the team for Saturday's game at Minnesota.

Congrats to manager-turned-player Ryan Schmidt, the newest #Illini. Ryan will dress for Saturday's game at Minnesota. pic.twitter.com/a2oXPmVVfC

— Illinois Basketball (@IlliniHoops) January 23, 2015

His bag is packed! Congrats to @Schmidty_3 for dressing at Minnesota Saturday. Newest @IlliniHoops member. #Illini pic.twitter.com/AgkFSY1xjZ

— Mark Morris (@momash09) January 23, 2015

Illinois had just nine healthy players available for Wednesday's 66-57 win over Purdue, seven of whom played at least 10 minutes. Injuries to Tracy Abrams, Rayvonte Rice and Aaron Cosby have limited the Illini's depth.

How much a student-manager will help Illinois is anybody's guess, but at least the Illini will have another body on the bench just in case.