Beckman visits State College, Penn.

7/26/2012
BLADE STAFF

CHICAGO -Illinois football coach Tim Beckman wanted to make one thing clear. When he and his staff at Illinois ventured out to central Pennsylvania earlier this week - and were spotted in proximity to the Penn State campus - he did not allow his staff to set foot on campus.

“We were in State College,” the former Toledo coach said today during the Big Ten media days. “But we did not go on campus. We went to two establishments outside campus, called some individuals and if they wanted to come by, it was their opportunity to come by.”

Beckman and the Illini staff came under fire when O'Brien told ESPN that he had seen coaching staffs from other schools in Happy Valley, only days after the NCAA levied unprecedented sanctions against Penn State, in the wake of a sex abuse scandal and ensuing cover-up by the school's administration. The sanctions also allowed players and recruits at Penn State to transfer without being penalized.

"As far as other schools on campus. I said my piece (Wednesday)," O'Brien said today. "I have no idea what schools are on campus, nor do I care, and that’s all I have to say about that."