UPDATE, Thursday 5:01 p.m.: Wisconsin has made Beatty's hiring official. The statement from Gary Andersen:
"Chris has a great track record of taking care of young men and making sure they succeed academically, socially and athletically, which is always the top priority with me," Andersen said. "He has shown that he can recruit at the highest levels of Division I and been very successful at it. The experience he brings coaching wide receivers will be an asset to us. We are very excited to have him, his wife, Kris, and his son, Aaron, joining the Badger family."
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Gary Andersen will complete his coaching staff with the hiring of former Illinois offensive coordinator Chris Beatty as wide receivers coach, according to the Wisconsin State Journal. Andersen could announce the move as early as Wednesday.
Beatty was dismissed after spending the last season with the Fighting Illini, who managed the Big Ten's worst offense both in terms of scoring (16.7 points per game) and total offense (296.7 yards per game). Beatty also served as Illinois' quarterbacks coach, overseeing an attack that never really had a solid option between Nathan Scheelhaase and Reilly O'Toole
Prior to his time there, Beatty, 39, spent one season at Vanderbilt as wide receivers coach and offensive recruiting coordinator. Beatty also spent three seasons at West Virginia as running backs/slot receivers coach and director of recruiting after one season at Northern Illinois as running backs coach.
Beatty shared Illinois' offensive coordinator duties with Billy Gonzales, who was initially a candidate to land the wide receivers coach job at Wisconsin. Yet, the Clarion-Ledger in Mississippi reported on Tuesday that Mississipi State is expected to hire Gonzales.
During last Wednesday's National Signing Day, Andersen said he was hoping to have a coach hired within a week.
Andersen told the State Journal on signing day last Wednesday he hoped to hire a wide receivers coach in the next week, saying at the time he had talked to a couple of candidates and needed to interview a couple more.
"I'd like to have this done in a week," Andersen said at the time. "It's been on hold long enough. We need to get somebody in here for these young men."
Wisconsin's 2013 coaching staff:
COACH | TITLE | PREVIOUSLY AT |
Gary Andersen | Head Coach | Utah State (HC) |
Dave Aranda | Defensive Coordinator/LBs | Utah State (DC) |
Andy Ludwig | Offensive Coordinator/QBs | San Diego State (OC) |
Jay Boulware | Tight Ends | Auburn (Special Teams/TE) |
Bill Busch | Secondary | Utah State (Assoc. HC/Special Teams) |
Thomas Hammock | Assistant Head Coach/RBs/Recruiting Coordinator | Wisconsin (RB) |
Chad Kauha'aha'a | Defensive Line | Utah (DL) |
Ben Strickland | Secondary | Wisconsin (GA) |
T.J. Woods | Offensive Line | Utah State (OL) |