Aug. 7, 2008
NORMAL, Ill. -
The Illinois State football team spent Wednesday's morning practice focusing on first-and-10 situations and senior wide receiver Kelvin Chandler played an integral part in moving the chains for the ISU offense. The Redbirds worked out for 24, five-minute periods in full pads at Hancock Stadium.
"Kelvin showed some signs in the spring, and there is a learning curve," said head coach Denver Johnson. "He worked really hard this summer, and we expect him to have a great year for us. He has tremendous speed. His hands have improved, and I think he's just playing with much more confidence."
The Redbirds scrimmaged during the final 20 minutes of practice. After a couple of running plays, quarterback Kevin Brockway bobbled the snap in the shotgun formation and was sacked by Adam Blankenship. Two plays later, Preston Earl hit Chandler in stride in the middle of the field for an 83-yard touchdown catch.
Following a Clifton Gordon 6-yard run, Brockway completed a 33-yard pass to Eyad Salem along the left sideline. Salem laid out for the pass to complete the circus catch. During the 34 plays of the scrimmage, the offense gained five yards or more on 20 of the snaps.
Defensively, true freshman Pat Wertz posted a couple of tackles-for-loss, while Tom Nelson notched a pass breakup and Brent Holtz recovered a Walter Mendenhall fumble.
On the first play of the 7-on-7 drill, Brockway completed a 58-yard touchdown pass to Chandler. Drew Kiel equaled Brockway's effort on his second pass attempt with a 58-yard scoring pass to Salem. Kiel completed 6-of-7 passes, while Brockway and Earl were each 4-for-5. Jason Tate collected two pass breakups to the lead the defense, while Jayme Comer had another.
Brockway was in rhythm with the passing game all day. His hot hand started during the one-on-one drills with the ISU defensive backs. He completed 9-of-10 passes to lead the quarterbacks, while Salem, Chandler and Kevett Mickle were the leading receivers with four catches apiece.
"That camp monkey is starting to jump on some of our backs," said Johnson. "We are deep into camp now and it is getting a little tough, but I thought the guys worked their way through it in the early periods. The effort is good, but the execution is not always what we want and where we need to be. If we keep getting this kind of effort, the execution will eventually catch up to it."
During the special teams session, the Redbirds worked on kickoff coverage and kickoff return. Zach Kutch and Kyle Cinzio handled all the kickoff duties, as last year's placekicker Bobby Kelsey nursed a sore quad muscle. Earlier in practice, Kutch converted 2-of-3 field-goal tries from 37 yards out, while Steven Fetzer was 3-for-5.
The Redbirds return to practice Wednesday night in shells for their second practice of the day and the second of three double-practice days.
NOTABLE:
Bert Whigham, Reggie Dozier, Ben Graves and Doni Phelps remained sidelined with their various injuries.
In addition, Mario Bailey (concussion) and Graham Corchoran (groin) were also out during Wednesday morning's practice.
Senior wide receiver Kevett Mickle returned to practice at limited capacity, while Blake Gumm was fully cleared after his knee sprain Tuesday afternoon.
Senior defensive lineman Wesley Williams has quit the team.
Some members of the coaching staff from Illinois Wesleyan and the Bloomington Extreme attended practice.
