Gundy Picks Beckman As Defensive Coordinator

Tim Beckman, the cornerbacks coach for Ohio State University, will be announced either Friday or Saturday as Oklahoma State’s new defensive coordinator, sources are telling GoPokes.com. Beckman has spent the last two seasons at Ohio State after coaching the previous seven years at Bowling Green, where he was defensive coordinator for six seasons and spent two as assistant head coach.

Beckman replaces Vance Bedford, who spent the past two seasons as the Cowboys’ defensive coordinator before leaving after the 2006 season.

The following information is from his bio from the Ohio State web site:
While at Bowling Green, Beckman was a three-time nominee for the Frank Broyles Assistant Coach of the Year Award. He was a finalist for that honor in 2001, when the Falcons led the Mid-American Conference in total defense, scoring defense, rushing defense, turnovers gained and scoring margin.

Beckman also has coached at Elon University and Western Carolina, and he was a graduate assistant at Auburn in 1989 when the Tigers played Ohio State in the Hall of Fame Bowl.

A native of Berea, Ohio and a 1988 graduate of the University of Findlay, Beckman played defensive back for the Oilers in 1984 and 1985. Both of those teams qualified for the NAIA playoffs.

Beckman launched his coaching career at Auburn in 1988 as a graduate assistant. He received his master's degree while working with the Tigers' defensive backs.

Beckman's first full-time coaching opportunity came in 1990 with Western Carolina, where he spent five years as the secondary coach and recruiting coordinator. Following the 1995 campaign, he was named defensive coordinator and recruiting coordinator at Elon.

After two years in that role, Beckman returned to the Buckeye state as the secondary coach at Bowling Green. He was named defensive coordinator in 1999 and assistant head coach of the Falcons in 2003.

He remained in that capacity until joining the Ohio State staff, where he has had an immediate impact because of his teaching ability and recruiting prowess.

Beckman comes from a football family. His dad, Dave, coached at Iowa and later was an assistant for the Cleveland Browns and the San Diego Chargers in the NFL. The elder Beckman played his college football at Baldwin Wallace under Lee Tressel, the late father of Buckeye head coach Jim Tressel

Tim and his wife, Kim, who is a Findlay graduate, have three children; Tyler, Lindsay and Alex.