The Illinois State defense made its statement early and often during the Redbirds first scrimmage of spring camp Saturday at Hancock Stadium.
The Redbird defense racked up 16 sacks during the 117-play situational scrimmage led by James Temple and Jarek Thomas, who each recorded a pair. Head coach Denver Johnson was pleased with what he saw on the field, particularly on the defensive side of the ball.
We are really blessed with our depth (at the defensive line), Johnson said. I think by the time the season rolls around we are going to be a least two deep, and maybe more, with guys that can go into ball games for us and compete. We are still not where we need to be by any stretch, but Im seeing some encouraging things.
In addition to the sacks, the defense held the offense to 113 yards passing. Sophomore Cavari Dailey intercepted a Jordan Borowicz pass, while Javier Evelyn recovered a fumbled pitch between Borowicz and Earl Newby.
The offense was able to move the ball, especially in the running game. Sophomore LaShawn Bullock sliced and diced his way to 137 yards rushing on 16 carries. He also had a pair of touchdown runs (23, 9) and was pushed out at the one-yard line on the longest rush of the day 46 yards. Newby pounded out 92 yards on 20 attempts, while Demetrus Johnson legged 71 yards on 15 carries.
We didnt execute some things in the passing game very well, but in a normal down and distance situation were going to be able to hang our hat on our running game, Johnson said. The offensive line is obviously going to be one of the strong points of our football team, so between the offensive line, tight ends and h-backs we feel like we can generate a pretty good running game. But, were going to have to get our passing game more dependable for us its a little hit and miss right now.
Each Redbird signal caller threw for one touchdown pass with redshirt freshman John Braddock having the longest a 25-yard strike to Marcus Hayden. Yance Vaughan led the passing attack with 47 yards and found Mike Larson for a nine-yard touchdown catch. B.J. McCaslin scrambled and found Brian Busser in the middle of the endzone on a 15-yard play, while Borowicz dumped a screen pass to Tristan Borzick for a touchdown from one-yard out.
Heading into the scrimmage Johnson was looking to get a lot of players snaps and repetitions.
Im obviously pleased with the effort, Johnson said. There are a lot of guys out here that need a lot of reps. Were just trying to put them in there and give them some time on the job. By giving them the chance to capture some things on film, it gives us a chance to teach off of and for them to learn off of. We threw a lot of different combinations out there and tried to put as many guys in as many different situations as we could.
The Redbirds return to practice on Tuesday, April 13. The workout is scheduled to start at 3:30 p.m.
