Aug. 9, 2008
NORMAL, Ill. -
A red fox continues to visit Hancock Stadium this training camp, but Saturday morning another animal made its presence known during the Illinois State football team's practice - the "camp monkey." With their 12th practice in the last 10 days, another workout eight hours away and having to practice in a steady downpour for the first 18 periods, the Redbirds began to show signs of camp fatigue.
"We had some things today, that we haven't been having," said head coach Denver Johnson. "We had a few offside (penalties). We had a few missed assignments. We always talk about being assignment correct, fundamentally sound, physically fit and mentally tough, and this is where the mental toughness part comes into play.
"When you get deep into camp and you're dealing with aches and pains, your legs are dead and your back is hurting, you've got to be mentally tough and mentally sharp. We succumbed to that a little bit this morning. It wasn't terrible, but it was more manifestation of that than I would like to see."
To end the 24, five-minute period practice, the Redbirds spent the last four periods in a full-team scrimmage. Facing a first-and-10 situation, the Redbird offense took 32 snaps from center. The team period focused heavily on the run with a number of plays featuring a double-tight end set.
Of the 32 plays, the ISU offense collected five or more yards on 13 plays. The highlight was a 17-yard run by Parrish Fisher on a sweep to the left. Adam Blankenship and Blake Gumm each posted quarterback sacks, while Jermaine Malcolm broke up a Preston Earl pass.
Prior to the team scrimmage, during 7-on-7, Kevin Brockway was intercepted by Jason Tate on the first play of the drill. Brockway shook off the pick and completed six of his next eight passes. Earl completed 4-of-8, and Drew Kiel was 4-for-4 passing, including a touchdown to Kelvin Chandler down the right sideline on broken coverage.
Chandler led all receivers with three catches. Cody White caught one pass in the flat, but lost the handle after turning up-field and E.J. Jones picked up the loose ball which would have been returned for a touchdown.
Earlier in practice, the quarterbacks and receivers were not on the same page. The ISU quarterbacks combined to complete 13-of-32 passes, while Kelvyn Hemphill broke up two of the passes. Jake Rourke was the leading receiver with four catches.
The Saturday morning practice was the first of two practices on the day, and the third, and final, double-practice day for the Redbirds this training camp.
NOTABLE:
Bert Whigham and Reggie Dozier remained sidelined with their ankle injuries.
Ben Graves returned to practice with a cast on his left thumb.
