Illinois State head coach Denver Johnson at first was a little leery to schedule practice right after the teams annual media day, but the Redbirds responded by focusing on the task at hand instead of the cameras and tape recorders which surrounded them earlier in the day.
I thought we kind of flopped around a little bit early, but after a quarter of the way through I thought they finally found the tempo, Johnson said. I was really pleased with the way that practice ended up. I thought the last 30 minutes of practice, the 7-on-7 drills and the team passing drills, were very productive.
The Redbirds worked out for 24, five-minute periods on an unseasonably cool afternoon at Hancock Stadium, while wearing shells. During the team session, the Redbird defense really got a spark from a pair of defensive ends Josh Chrestman and Brent Hawkins. Each recorded a sack and caught the eye of Johnson.
With putting shoulder pads on Hawkins, hes really starting to show up, Johnson said about the former Purdue player. Chrestman is also doing some good things in there as well and I look for him to have a big year.
The defense also recorded an interception as Kye Stewart picked off a B.J. McCaslin pass. The offenses longest gain of the day was a 60-yard pass from Kevein Brockway to Marcus Hayden.
On Wednesday, the Redbirds take the field for the first time this fall in full pads.
Their pretty geeked up about putting pads on and well come out and get after each other pretty good, Johnson said. It will be interesting to get into full pads and get into some drills at let it go without having to hold anything back.
Practice is slated to start at 2:30 p.m.
Camp Notes:
Redshirt freshman Jason Horton sat out with a hamstring injury.
Offensive lineman Isaiah Wiggins pulled out of practice early with a leg injury.
The practice ended with the quarterbacks, including senior Yance Vaughan, leading the singing of the school fight song.
