Former Illinois DB also alleges Beckman rushed his recovery
On the heels of allegeations of mistreatment by fomer Illinois offensive lineman Simon Cvijanovic, another former Illinois player said coach Tim Beckman also rushed him back from an injury.
Defensive back Nick North told the Daily Illini that Beckman kept him practicing while he should have been recovering from a knee injury.
In the spring of 2013, while a sophomore, North said he tore his PCL and developed a cyst on his knee as a result. He said Beckman and his staff forced him to continue to practice when he should have been doing light work. North echoed the statements that Cvijanovic expressed on Twitter on Sunday evening: He claimed Beckman pressured players who were injured to come back and play sooner than they felt comfortable.
He also had this to say about the coach.
“When I was being recruited out of high school I met a bunch of college coaches,” North, who graduated in December, told the Daily Illini. “Tim Beckman, man, he takes the cake as the worst coach I ever met.”
Beckman was the coach at Toledo when North and Cvijanovic signed with Illinois and coach Ron Zook. He became Illinois’ coach in 2012.
The new allegations prompted Beckman to release his second statement on the matter:
Illinois released this statement from coach Tim Beckman: pic.twitter.com/XhXBO3lEAW
— Shannon Ryan (@sryantribune) May 12, 2015
Cvijanovic, Illinois’ starting left tackle, suffered a shoulder injury against Ohio State and missed the final four games of the season. He said Beckman wanted him to play through a torn meniscus in 2013. He also told the Chicago Tribune that offensive coordinator Bill Cubit told him to stop taking his anti-depressant medication.
Monday, Illinois athletic director Mike Thomas said he supported Beckman but that his department would look into the allegations.
According to North’s mother, he had two MRIs on his knee and Illinois refused to pay for them (the school is not required to pay). North also said that Beckman repeatedly talked to him about vacating his scholarship and transferring. The Daily Illini said Beckman refused comment on North’s career.
Alex Steigerwald, a kicker at Toledo when Beckman was the coach, also told the Daily Illini that Beckman “always” threatened to pull players’ scholarships. Athletic scholarships used to universally year-to-year, however as part of reforms passed in college athletics, Power Five scholarships are now four years and can’t be revoked because of athletic performance.
Beckman has a career 12-25 record at Illinois and is 4-20 in the Big Ten. His team was 6-7 last year and lost in the Heart of Dallas Bowl to Louisiana Tech.
For more Illinois news, visit OrangeandBlueNews.com.
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Nick Bromberg is the assistant editor of Dr. Saturday on Yahoo Sports. Have a tip? Email him at [email protected] or follow him on Twitter!
