NORMAL, Ill. – The Illinois State football players, coaches and staff had a busy day, starting with the annual Redbird Football Media Day in the morning and ending with their first practice in full pads in the afternoon, Monday, at Hancock Stadium.
At 9:00 a.m., the Redbirds gathered for their team and individual photos. Following the photo session, several members of the media arrived to talk to the players and coaches about plenty of subjects, including what the expectations for program will be in 2015.
Head coach Brock Spack held a half-hour preseason press conference to officially wrap up Media Day, speaking to the approximately 15 media members about season expectations, what he hopes to see out of the next few weeks of practice, how the players have been performing thus far in camp and what the team will be expecting when it visits Iowa for its season opener on September 5 at Kinnick Stadium.
"I like the players' attitudes, they're focused," Spack said. "I think they've picked up where they left off a year ago. I like their work ethic, they've taken care of each other. They know how to practice and they're a physical group."
The team met back on the field at 3 p.m. for an intense and highly-competitive first day in full pads.Â
During an extensive 7-on-7 session that featured 32 plays, both the offense and defense shined, battling hard while working on passing routes and coverages. Tre Roberson finished the drill 11-for-17, including a pair of connections with Jon-Marc Anderson, while Jake Kolbe finished 11-for-15. Although both quarterbacks were solid during the drill, the defense held most of the completions to short yardage gains, including Davontae Harris and Josh Burch executing solid coverage and a pass breakup each.Â
The offense was able to find a couple of highlight plays, however, as Kolbe hooked up with Matt Biegalski on a 35-yard completion to put them inside the five yard-line. The two later connected on a 40-yard touchdown in the back of the end zone on a nice throw from Kolbe that was out of the reach of the double coverage.
The 'Birds ended practice with an intense 11-on-11 session, during which players on both sides of the ball made big plays. During the first drive, with the offense backed up to the three yard-line, Marshaun Coprich broke off a 15-yard run to get them out of dangerous territory. Then on consecutive plays, Roberson hooked up with Jamal Towns for a minimal gain—who was met with a crushing hit by Harris on the sidelines—and Anderson on a 35-yard post in which the receiver leaped into the air to grab the ball at its high point before coming down hard to the turf.
George Moreira and James Graham each had hard-nosed runs throughout the period, running over would-be tacklers on their way to picking up first downs. On defense, Donavin O'Day tallied a sack and a tackle-for-loss on a crushing hit of Graham in the backfield. David Perkins and Adam Pittser each recorded sacks as well, while Nathan Iloilo and Matt McCown teamed up for a TFL in the backfield toward the end of the period.
The Redbirds return to the field Tuesday for the sixth day of camp and first set of two-a-days at 9:00 a.m. and 7:00 p.m. 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.
GoRedbirds.com: Â Your online source for Illinois State Athletics, tickets, Weisbecker Scholarship Fund gifts, multimedia, Redbird merchandise, photos and more.
