March 30, 2006
NORMAL, Ill. -
In terms of weather, what a difference a couple of days can make, but for Illinois State head coach Denver Johnson it was status quo for his Redbirds' third practice of the spring. Overcoming the distraction of a long-awaited 75 degree spring day, the Redbirds again were focused through 24, five-minute periods at Hancock Stadium on Thursday.
"I thought everything went well again today, but it was a little breezy," Johnson said. "It's hard to practice football without shoulder pads on, but we will be able to pad up this weekend and it will start getting a little more competitive."
The `Birds spent the first two periods working on their special teams, with a focus on blocking protection for extra points, field goals and punts.
In the 7-on-7 drill, the Redbird quarterbacks also had to battle the 26 mph winds in addition to the ISU defense. Both Wally Cirafesi and Kevin Brockway posted high completion percentages, as Cirafesi completed 10-of-13 passes and Brockway was 7-of-12.
The protection of the yellow jersey saved Cirafesi from a pair of sacks from Ronnie Tate during the team period, but he didn't get the same coverage on an arrant pass that fell into the hands of James Temple. Brockway was also picked off, when Chance Smith intercepted one of his pass attempts.
"James is a guy we are counting on to be a solid performer for us (in the secondary)," Johnson said. "He is a guy that has a chance to be a real cut-above-type guy. He's got a good look in his eye, a good disposition and he's been working hard. He's had a good camp so far and hopefully he will continue to do that because we need him to come in and have a rock-solid senior season."
Brockway finished the team period completing 7-of-12 passes, while Cirafesi was 5-for-12.
"I think (our completion percentage) was effected by a combination of things today," Johnson said. "Number one, we only have two quarterbacks going right now and we have some sore arms. The winds also had something do with it, but our defense is putting more coverages in, so it was a combination of all those things."
After an off-day, the Redbirds will conduct their first practice in full pads on Saturday, beginning at 9:30 a.m.
NOTES
Former Redbird linebacker and current Kansas City Chief Boomer Grigsby will be on campus this weekend. Grigsby will host a question and answer session at the College of Business on Friday and on Saturday he will be receiving the Outstanding Young Alumni Award, which will be presented at a banquet in the Brown Ballroom of Bone Student Center at 4 p.m.
Quarterback Luke Drone threw a few passes during the wide receiver's route drill, working primarily on short hook patterns and crossing routes.
