Brian Hendricks begins his fifth season as the Illinois State defensive line coach in 2022.

Hendricks' charges on the defensive front, led by All-MVFC First Team end Romeo McKnight and MVFC Honorable Mention nose guard John Ridgeway, helped the team lead the country and set a school-record with 52 sacks in 2019. The Redbird defense ranked in the top 10 in seven different defensive categories, including leading the country in red zone defense, and finished the year ranked No. 11 in the FCS in total defense.

The Redbird defensive line aided ISU in having the second-best scoring defensive in the MVFC (20.0) and the second-best total defense (309.8 ypg) in the conference behind eventual national champion North Dakota State. Hendricks also mentored  McKnight, who was named a HERO Sports FCS Sophomore All-American and a MVFC All-Newcomer Team selection in his first season. Freshman noseguard  Ridgeway also earned MVFC All-Newcomer Team honors, creating a promising young defensive front for the Redbirds.

Hendricks came to Illinois State after serving as an assistant coach at Montana for three seasons. There, he worked alongside ISU defensive coordinator Travis Niekamp, who will now coach the inside linebackers for the Redbirds.

The Burlington, Colorado, native spent the last two seasons as the Grizzlies’ defensive line coach, after serving as the defensive ends coach in his first season at Montana in 2015. In Hendricks’ first year at UM coaching the defensive ends, he coached the 2015 STATS FCS Defensive Player of the Year Tyrone Holmes to a national-best 18 sacks.

Before arriving at Montana, Hendricks was an assistant coach for Griz mentor Bob Stitt at the Colorado School of Mines working with the defensive line. In 2014, Mines had an overall record of 10-2 and tied for the Rocky Mountain Athletic Conference title with an 8-1 league mark. The Orediggers participated in the NCAA playoffs, and their 10-2 record was the 13th winning season in 15 years for Coach Stitt, and also added to the program’s record with an eighth consecutive winning season. 

With Hendricks coaching the defensive front, the Orediggers’ defense ranked second in the RMAC in scoring defense (23.4 pts/game), first in the RMAC and 36th in DII in rush defense (124.9) and first in the RMAC and 12th in DII in sacks (38). Hendricks helped an Orediggers defense in 2013 that ranked first in the RMAC and 7th in DII in scoring defense (17.0 pts/game). He joined Stitt’s staff in 2013, following a short stint as a defensive graduate assistant at Colorado State.
           
During his collegiate playing career, Hendricks was a four-year letterman at inside linebacker at Wyoming from 2008-2011. He earned a pair of Second-Team All-Mountain West accolades and led the team in tackles his sophomore and senior seasons. He served as a team captain during his junior and senior campaigns and was named the team’s most valuable linebacker following his sophomore, junior and senior seasons. Hendricks also holds the Wyoming single-game record for most tackles (23), which was also the best single-game performance in the nation in 2009, and finished his career as the 12th leading tackler in Wyoming history. Additionally, Hendricks served on the UW Leadership Council and earned an invitation to the 2012 Washington Redskins mini-camp. 
           
Hendricks, graduated with a bachelor’s degree in agricultural business from Wyoming in 2011, and was married this summer to his wife, Talia.