Illinois State football coach Denver Johnson has talked more than once this season about his teams energy and spirit during the fall practices.
With the Redbirds donning full pads for the first time Wednesday, the energy level took another step forward, especially on defense.
Overall, I think our defense can run and that showed up today, Johnson said. Guys like Josh Chrestman, Brent Hawkins, Nate Johnson, Jarek Thomas and Sesamir Yearby stepped it up. The guys up front and on the edges really did a nice job of pursuing the ball today.
When the Redbirds lined up for an 11-on-11 scrimmage, the defensive front looked noticeably strong at stopping the run, with defensive end Mike Blough making a stop behind the line of scrimmage on running back Brian Thompson. The defensive backs also got into the mix with Evan Allen-Gessesse intercepting a B.J. McCaslin pass intended for Brian Busser. Garry Roberts also made a nice play when he batted down a pass intended for Dan Passarelli.
The offense did have its shining moments though. Yance Vaughan and Ramon Barber connected twice during Wednesdays practice, once during 7-on-7 drills and once in the regular scrimmage. McCaslin also connected with Kyle Hill, who made an adjustment on his route to get past Allen-Gessesse and make the catch.
Johnson was pleased to see Vaughan connect with his top receiver.
Yance is clearly the number one quarterback at this time and Ramon is a guy were looking at to step up and be a big-time receiver, Johnson said. It was good to see them both connect and execute some things in the passing game.
The Birds will be back in action Thursday for the first two-a-day practice session of the fall season. The morning session is scheduled for 9 a.m., while the evening practice is set for 7:30 p.m.
Camp Notes:
A production crew from College Sports Television (CSTV) was on campus Wednesday putting together a feature on linebacker Boomer Grigsby. Information regarding its airtime will come at a later date.
Defensive back Sam Yeargin, who is out for the season with an ACL tear, is progressing well in his rehab and is using this years camp for time to strengthen his knee.
