Aug. 11, 2007
NORMAL, Ill. -
The Illinois State football team spent its Saturday morning session getting ready for its first scrimmage of the fall training camp tonight, as they practiced in shells for a 16, five-minute period workout.
The Redbirds opened their practice in familiar fashion, working on individual drills followed by special teams. During the punt coverage segment, Eyad Salem, Jason Horton and Tom Nelson all took reps as the return man, a position which is still up for grabs. Bobby Kelsey and Kevin Mazur handled punting duties.
Luke Drone led the quarterbacks during the 7-on-7 drill, connecting on 5-of-9 attempts. Kevin Brockway was 4-for-6, while Drew Kiel and Sam Donatucci were each 2-for-3. Salem led the receivers with three catches, while Jake Rourke caught a 56-yard touchdown on a go-route from Brockway.
The defense was led by Jesse Caesar, who nearly made a spectacular diving interception on a pass from Preston Earl. Garry Roberts, Kurt James and Josh Mitchell also added pass breakups.
During the team period, Andrew Paschal made a highlight-reel interception after a Brockway pass was bobbled by Dave Mordis and bounced off his back as he was being tackled by Jason Tate until was snagged by Paschal.
The `Birds will practice again on Saturday, with an inter-squad scrimmage beginning at 7:30 p.m.
NOTES:
• Tom Nelson and Tony Trujillo all returned to practice Saturday morning.
• Dan Simnick did not participate in the morning session.
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