Spring Practice 8: Defense Controls First Scrimmage

NORMAL, Ill.  – It was a battle of red versus white, as the Illinois State football team took to the turf Saturday morning for its first live scrimmage of the spring, as the Redbirds ran through over 100 plays in sunny but windy conditions at Hancock Stadium.

The defense came out strong, setting the tone early in the scrimmage. Brannon Barry looked good in his new role at linebacker, recording an interception, a sack and two tackles-for-loss. Dalton Keene and Davontae Harris also had strong efforts, with Keene tallying two TFL's and Harris recording a PBU and an interception. The rest of the defense also played strong, tallying a totally of 13 sacks, seven TFL's, four pass breakups and two interceptions. 

The offense held its own, picking up 16 first downs during the morning session. Artiss Henderson and Jordan Birch scored the lone touchdowns, each rushing into the end zone to put six points on the board for the 'Birds. Kickers Sean Slattery and Zach Breen capped off the touchdowns by scoring the extra points.  

The Redbird running backs saw most of the action today, with Markel Smith leading all rushers with 16 carries including a 35-yard dash up the sideline to pick up a key first down. Jordan Birch was also busy, carrying the ball 15 times, with Henderson and James Robinson recording six reps apiece. 

Following a quick stretch and warmup session, head coach Brock Spack called the team to the 50-yard line and explained how the scrimmage would run. The Redbirds ran through a series of situations that began with the offense driving in from the red zone. The offense was then challenged with coming out of its own end zone, with the ball being placed on its 2-yard line. 

From there, the focus shifted to driving the field. The pigskin was placed on the visitors 47-yard line, and Jake Kolbe quickly found himself in a third-and-ten situation before connecting with Anthony Fowler for 23 yards to pick up a key first down to keep the drive alive. On the following play, Kolbe spotted Tylor Petkovich up the middle for a 12-yard reception, before the defense stopped the offense short of the end zone, forcing Breen to kick a field goal. 

It was then Tristan Smith's turn at the helm, and he connected with Andy Mills on third down who fell just shy of the first-down marker. Smith came up big, as the Redbirds went for it on fourth-and-one rushing for back-to-back first downs. Matt Swaine put a stop to the drive on the visitor's 41-yard line, as a new set of Redbirds ran on to the field.

Malachi Broadnax and Conor Joyce also got their chance at quarterback during the morning scrimmage. Toward the middle of the session, Broadnax connected with JJ Stahl on fourth-and-sixth for a first down. The drive was brought to a halt courtesy of a pass break up by Barry, forcing Breen to kick a 33-yard field goal. 

ISU ended the morning driving back in visitor territory on the 33-yard line. Kolbe threw a pair of passes to Henderson to earn the first down. The defense answered with a sack by Adam Conley, followed by a sack from James Graham as the horn blew to signal the end the scrimmage.   
 
The Redbirds will return to Hancock Stadium Tuesday for the ninth practice of the spring, with a 3 p.m. scheduled start. For live practice updates, photos and video follow the official Redbird Football Twitter account @RedbirdFB and log on to GoRedbirds.com for full coverage throughout the spring.

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