Illinois quarterback Nathan Scheelhaase addressed the media for the first time since his father was arrested at Saturday’s Homecoming game for resisting a peace officer.

Nate Creer, Scheelhaase’s father, 51, of Champaign, was arrested after getting into an altercation with another fan at the Illini’s game against Michigan State. Officers took him outside the stadium to calm him down at which point he “approached (a) sergeant in a very aggressive manner,” Deputy Chief of Police Skip Frost said Monday.

Creer was arrested and released that night. The University Police Department banned him from all University property for one year, which includes Memorial Stadium. The Illini have two home games remaining in what is Scheelhaase’s senior season.  

Scheelhaase addressed the situation Tuesday.

“I’ve kept it as a family matter,” Scheelhaase said. “When you’re a senior, you’ve kind of been through the whole gambit. You know there’s going to be different distractions throughout your career.

“The best thing I have is a bunch of people in here that are focused on this next game, focused on what we need to do every day. When you come in and you’re surrounded by those people that you’ve been around for years now, it makes life really easy.”

Creer declined to comment on Saturday’s incident or the University ban for this story.

Scheelhaase’s teammate and close friend Miles Osei said Scheelhaase was doing well and was focused on Illinois’ game at Penn State this weekend.

Wide receiver Steve Hull, a fifth-year senior like Scheelhaase, said he didn’t know if the situation was affecting his quarterback.

“The really good thing about Nate is he’s very strong, and if he was a guy that wasn’t as strong in his faith … he’s above and beyond what anybody else would be,” Hull said. 

“We definitely checked on him and asked how he was doing. He said, ‘Yeah, I’m good.’ And there was nothing else to be said about it.”

Scheelhaase said he was treating the situation as any other distraction. He said every player deals with off-the-field issues, from family to final exams to girlfriends. For him there hasn’t been a problem setting the distractions aside.

“It hasn’t been bad at all,” Scheelhaase said. “That’s the great part about being in the thick of the season. There’s a new team that you’re preparing for week to week, and it doesn’t matter what’s going on.

“Penn State doesn’t really care about that. The great thing about that is that it gives you a chance to focus in on what you really enjoy.”

Scheelhaase — a Kansas City, Mo., native — is nearing the end of his career at Illinois, during which he has been the starter for each of the last four seasons. Creer moved to Champaign from Kansas City sometime after Scheelhaase committed to play for Illinois.

Sean can be reached at [email protected] and @sean_hammond.