Illinois State football head coach Denver Johnson was a little disappointed in the mental approach of his team at practice at Hancock Stadium, Tuesday, but thought the physical aspect of the days workout was good.
We came out today and I thought we got some things done early but we werent really focused, Johnson said. Physically, we really got after it, but the quality of the practice mentally was disappointing. I know we are tired, we are supposed to be tired just coming out of training camp and starting school, but we are going to keep on practicing. There is plenty of time to get our legs back.
With their first full practice since the start of school, the Redbirds succumbed to the heat and outside factors which, according to Johnson, is normal for this time of year.
With 21,000 students back on this campus and the heat rising again today, this team didnt do a good job of creating a tunnel vision mentally, Johnson said. I talk about peripheral opponents to the team and not faltering to those factors, but today they didnt do a good job of creating a tunnel vision which we must have to be mentally strong.
Johnson expects that the team will be better prepared for tomorrows practice. The team will continue with full workouts Thursday and Friday and two Saturday before taking Sunday off.
I fully expect practice to be better tomorrow, Johnson said. My coaching staff and myself are going to start scaling back and dividing up reps differently, getting guys ready for the travel squad. Purdue is just around the corner and we are going to start getting geared up. Certainly by the end of this week, we will be looking at Purdue and trying to make a true first and second team.
