CHAMPAIGN, Ill. (AP) -- Illinois athletic director Mike Thomas is supporting coach Tim Beckman while planning a full review of allegations by former offensive lineman Simon Cvijanovic that the program mishandled his injuries.
Cvijanovic complained in a series of Twitter messages Sunday that he had been pressured by Beckman and some members of his staff to play through serious injuries last season and that the school hadn't informed him of the extent of an earlier knee surgery.
''As it related to coach Beckman and the fact that he's really been personally attacked, he's put the welfare of this young man above everything else,'' Thomas told reporters Monday.