CHAMPAIGN — Prepping Coach Tim Beckman and the three-player contingent for Big Ten football media days isn’t anything new at Illinois. The whole team gets media training before each season, with this year’s session happening Monday night.
But 2015’s Big Ten media days won’t be so typical. Not with the Illinois football program — namely Beckman — facing allegations of player abuse and medical mistreatment by former offensive lineman Simon Cvijanovic. And not with the independent investigation by Chicago law firm Franczek Radelet into the allegations yet to conclude.
That will leave Beckman and current players Josh Ferguson, Ted Karras and Mason Monheim facing the attention of national media Thursday with the likely main topic of conversation essentially off-limits.