CHICAGO -- Illinois coach Tim Beckman sidestepped questions about the way he treats his players during his 15 minutes under the spotlight at Big Ten media days Thursday.

Several former Illini this summer accused the coach of verbally, and on at least one occasion physically, abusing his players on the practice field. Shortly after former offensive lineman Simon Cvijanovic leveled the first of those accusations in May, Beckman released a statement saying he was "disappointed" and will continue to treat the people in his program like family.

Beckman hasn’t talked about the allegations in any interview format since May and wanted no part of the discussion on Thursday. The university is conducting its own investigation into some of the issues, but it’s not clear exactly when the results will be shared.

"We’re focused right now on the 2015 football team," Beckman said when asked to respond to the allegations. "We took off last year after a great end of the year, and we’ve been focused since January on becoming a better football program."

The coach said he plans to use the same philosophy in dealing with his team moving forward. He said it’s something that his players believe in.

"We’re fathers," Beckman said. "I think that each one of our coaches would say the same thing. We’re in the process of providing avenues for our football players to become better men and become better football players. We want a relationship for a lifetime as we talk to them."

The three players who joined Beckman in Chicago this week -- senior Mason Monheim and fifth-year seniors Josh Ferguson and Ted Karras -- said they think the negative buzz around the program and their head coach has actually helped bring the team closer together this summer.

"It’s a distraction, an unfortunate distraction," said Karras, who will begin his fourth year as a starter at right guard in September. "But we tried to rally around it."

Monheim, the Illini’s leading tackler, believes this season’s team is the closest he’s been on, and having to circle the wagons and defend their coach has been a factor in developing that camaraderie. The players held a few closed-door meetings this summer to address the issue and also met with athletic department administrators to discuss the ongoing investigation. Most of the players expressed their support through social media before returning to campus. By the time they reconvened for summer workouts, the team was ready to get back to work, according to Monheim.

Karras was one of the most outspoken defenders of Beckman on social media in early May. He said Beckman is as open to listening to players and their suggestions as anyone who has coached him. Karras and Ferguson were both recruited to Illinois while Ron Zook was still the head coach. They both said they didn’t think Beckman’s arrival came with a major culture shock.

"He came after my freshman year, so it wasn’t very hard for me," Ferguson said. "I know it was hard for some older dudes, but it wasn’t very hard. Coach Beckman, when he first got here, gave me my fifth year, so for me to support him was never a hard thing to do."

Beckman opted to let his players do most of the talking for him during interview sessions throughout the day. He steered the conversation back to Illinois’ training camp and its season opener against Kent State on Sept. 4 whenever asked about the distractions.