Aug. 11, 2005
News & Notes:
• The Illinois State football team went through its first two-a-day practice session of fall camp on Thursday. In the morning, the Redbirds worked out for 24, five-minute periods in full pads. The morning session began at 8:30 a.m., and the temperature was a comfortable 80 degrees.
• The evening session was delayed approximately 30 minutes due to severe weather in the area. However, as the weather moved out, cooler temperatures moved in for the practice under the lights at Hancock Stadium. The session ended at 10:15 p.m. with the thermometer reading a cool 75 degrees.
• With two straight fully-padded, full-contact practices some nagging injuries started to appear. Linebacker Niall Campbell missed the end of the morning practice with a left leg injury, while running back Pierre Rembert also pulled up lame with a left groin strain. Both Campbell and Rembert sat out the evening practice, airing on the side of caution according to head athletic trainer Kathy Schniedwind.
• After wide receiver Laurènt Robinson botched up the post-practice "break down" routine, head coach Denver Johnson selected defensive back Jesse Caesar to put his final stamp on the morning session. Offensive lineman Isaiah Wiggins earned the honors to end the evening practice.
As Day Turns to Night:
• After a lackluster showing in the morning practice, the Redbird offense bounced back with a solid performance in the evening practice. With the running game as the focus of the morning practice, the evening practice was more pass oriented. Quarterbacks Luke Drone and Wally Cirafesi both found wide receiver Jason Horton for long pass receptions. The Redbird quarterbacks also went interception free in the evening team session, something they could not achieve during the morning session.
Hawk has His Eye on the QB:
• In addition to self-inflicted issues, the Redbird offense also had to deal with senior defensive end Brent Hawkins Thursday morning. Hawkins finished the team period with three sacks, including a pair on back-to-back plays. Hawkins followed his stellar morning practice with another sack during the evening session and several quarterback hurries.
Sack Race:
• Hawkins' fellow defensive lineman were not about to let him have all the fun Thursday night. The race was on to see who else could record a sack, and Illinois transfer James Stevenson III was the next to get into the action. Mike Blough was a close third, as he was the last Redbird to record a sack.
This Hawkins Makes Plays Too:
• Junior college transfer Marques Hawkins picked off a Nick Gehrts pass and returned it 20 yards for a touchdown in the early morning team period.
• James Temple and Garry Roberts also added interceptions in the morning workout, both off of Drone tosses.
Quotable:
"This first double session puts us in the grind of fall practice," said head coach Denver Johnson. "The players have to keep focused and be able to go from the field to the classroom and back to the field and stay sharp the whole time. This is also the time of year when fatigue and soreness begins to build. The guys just have to be ready to work through that and get better in the long run."
