NORMAL, Ill. – The Illinois State football team wrapped up its final full day of spring practice Thursday afternoon, two days ahead of the much-anticipated 2015 Spring Showcase, which takes place Saturday afternoon at Hancock Stadium starting at 1 p.m.
The Redbirds got off to a quick, high-intensity start with a blitz drill that featured several outstanding plays from both sides of the ball. Quarterback Tre Roberson connected with Christian Gibbs on a 10-yard crossing route across the middle on the first play of the session, but on the next play Davontae Harris made a great play in breaking up a pass on a hitch route.
Two plays after Roberson connected with Gibbs once again, Oregon transfer Stephen Amoako broke up a pass intended for Kyle Williams. After a George Moreira 20-yard run up the left sideline, Blake Hooper jumped above the offensive line to bat down a pass from quarterback Jake Kolbe to end the drill.
Next, the 'Birds underwent their first individual training session of the day, as each position broke off to work on specialized drills. Most notable was the work of the linebackers and defensive backs, who teamed up together to work on pursuit tackling drills, focused on breaking down and getting their helmets across the chest of the ball carrier. On the other side of the field, the running backs worked on their regular footwork drills, including changing speeds, cutting and acceleration.
After wrapping up individual work, the team moved to a quick, 12-play perimeter session which emphasized stopping the running game. Jon-Marc Anderson hauled in a quick swing route, just out of the reach of the hands of Iowa transfer Reggie Spearman. Another transfer, David Kenney (Indiana), made a huge play that got the players excited when he stuffed Matt Biegalski with a hard hit in the backfield on a wide receiver reverse play.
In their second individual player session, the quarterbacks and receivers worked on short passes, slants and spot passes. Then, the running backs joined them to combine for a 9-on-7 drill which also worked on stopping the running game.
After a short punting session, the focus turned to the 7-on-7 drill, in which Roberson shined, finishing 7-of-10 with two touchdowns. The backup quarterbacks – Kolbe and Blake Winkler – struggled, finishing 2-of-8 and 3-of-8, respectively. Brannon Barry, Michael Clements and JJ Stahl each hauled in two grabs apiece, with Stahl and Andy Mills the recipients of Roberson's touchdown throws. On the defense, Amoako continued to shine with a pass breakup, and Nate Bond took an interception back 90-plus yards for a score.
The 'Birds ended the day with a final 11-on-11 team scrimmage. The defense stood tall on the first drive – which started inside the 20-yard line – in holding the offense to a 25-yard field goal attempt from Sean Slattery, which he nailed through the uprights. After allowing a 15-yard run from Moreira on the first play of the second drive, the Redbird defense did one better when Amokao picked off a Winkler pass and took it the distance for a touchdown.
On the next three drives, the offense finally got going, when Kolbe connected with Weslye Brown on a beautiful 12-yard slant pass for a touchdown. Roberson then took a play-action naked leg boot into the end zone untouched for a two-yard score, and Moreira punched it in a score from two yards out on the next drive. The team finished up with two goal-line sets, the first which ended with a touchdown pass from Roberson to Tylor Petkovich, who toe-tapped the corner of the end zone to convert the score. James Graham punched in a three-yard score to end the day.
The Redbirds return to the field Friday for a quick walk-through at 3:30 p.m., for its 14th spring workout at Hancock Stadium. To follow all of the Redbird football spring camp action and more ISU football news, log on to GoRedbirds.com and follow the program on Twitter at @RedbirdFB.
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