April 1, 2007
NORMAL, Ill. -
It was probably more a result of the rain-soaked grass practice field than the 50 mph gusting winds, but either way the Illinois State football team finally opened spring practice Sunday afternoon inside Horton Field House, after being rained out on Friday and Saturday.
"The kids were leaning forward and I just couldn't bring myself to make them wait to get started any longer," head coach Denver Johnson said. "We didn't want to get three days behind right off the bat. We would have liked to have been outside, but our field is just so saturated. Hopefully we will get some better weather and can get outside soon."
The Redbirds worked out in helmets and shorts for 24, four-minute periods, practicing just over two hours on the Super X Mondo surface inside the field house.
"It was a good start with a good spirit," Johnson said. "The mental intensity was pretty good and we were able to get a little further along on the insertion (of the playbook) than we had planned. We've got some talent, but don't have a lot of depth in some places and are young in spots."
The first six periods were devoted to special teams, followed by position drills. For the final six periods of practice the ISU offense worked out, while the defensive unit spent the last three periods working together. Due to the lack of space in Horton, the Redbirds weren't able to end practice with the usual team scrimmage period.
"We didn't get to compete (by being indoors)," Johnson said. "We didn't get to crossover against each other at all, even just for looks. We had to compress everything (inside the field house). We are going to have to deal with adversity all through spring not having the turf field. We are going to have to adjust and make it work, but I feel like we got off to a great start."
Weather permitting, the Redbirds are scheduled to return to practice on Tuesday.
