Aug. 13, 2007
NORMAL, Ill. -
The Illinois State football team worked out in shells for 24, five-minute periods on Monday morning for the first of two practices at Hancock Stadium.
"We extended the players some Saturday night, eased off them yesterday and are coming back out today with a double-practice,¨ head coach Denver Johnson said. "I thought they responded well. We had a spirited practice and there was a little freshness and quickness to it. I was pleased with how they responded.¨
The Redbird offense opened practice working on the two-minute offense, while the defense spent the first period stressing the importance of getting to the ball. The second period centered on PAT and field goal team.
During periods three and four, the ISU offense focused on ball security with the Redbird coaches trying to force the ball loose. The defense spent the time working on tackling technique.
The next three periods addressed punt coverage and punt return teams, while the quarterbacks broke away and worked on their footwork. Later in practice, the quarterbacks and running backs spent time practicing handoffs and running routes. The running backs also went one-on-one with the Redbird linebackers, to work on pass coverage.
While the quarterbacks were getting work, Johnson was over with the offensive tackles stressing pass blocking.
"Pass protection is a high-maintenance occupation and we aren¡¦t quite where we want to be,¨ Johnson said. "We were just trying to get a little emphasis on our tackles, because we have to keep the pocket wider. We are also a little bit soft up the middle. Pass protection takes a long, long time to get where it needs to be, and even though we are a veteran ball club, we still need to put our focus there.¨
In periods 15 and 16, the Redbird wide receivers went one-on-one against the defensive backs. Luke Drone completed 4-of-8, Preston Earl was 5-for-7, Drew Kiel finished 5-of-8 and Sam Donatucci was 5-for-8, but threw an interception to Kelvyn Hemphill.
During 7-on-7, Drone finished with a 7-for-10 effort, while Earl was 6-for-7. Kelvin Chandler, Jason Horton, Marcus King, Kevett Mickle, Jake Rourke and Dane Zumbahlen all had two catches apiece. Drone continued to have the hot hand during the team period, completing 9-of-10 pass attempts. Earl also completed 6-of-7 passes, while Chandler was the top receiver with four catches.
NOTES:
,« Redshirt freshmen linebackers Tony Trujillo and Tommie Westbrook were each full-status for Monday¡¦s morning practice.
