Spring Camp Report 2: Sunshine Sends Off Redbirds

NORMAL, Ill. – As the Illinois State football team took the field Saturday morning, the conditions on field were a drastic change from what greeted the Redbirds on the first day of practice Tuesday. Sunny skies and crisp conditions at Hancock Stadium made for an ideal day for practice No. 2 of the spring and the final before Easter break for the 'Birds.

PHOTO GALLERY

Head coach Brock Spack and his team moved quickly through the workout, focusing on an up-tempo pace without pads on. The focus was once again on technique and fundamentals, as a special teams circuit kicked off the day.  After individual position work, the work focused on the blitz drill, with Jake Kolbe and Koty Thelen faring much better Saturday without howling winds and rainy conditions.  Another brief individual session led into the first team session of the day.

George Moreira and Jamal Towns each had strong runs and Kolbe twice connected with Tylor Petkovich for first-down pickups.  Thelen pulled the ball down twice for decent gains on the ground and also connected with Morgan Kral during the drill, before the 7-on-7 session began. Kolbe was efficient, completing 6-of-10 passes with a pair to All-American Anthony Warrum, who broke one for a 60-yard touchdown.  He also connected with Christian Gibbs, Anthony Fowler and Bryce Jefferson before giving way to Thelen, who went 5-for-9 with pair of completions to Kyle Williams and one each to Nick Griffith, Chase Pankey and Drew Himmelman.

The defense was able to make some plays during the drill as well, as Davontae Harris picked off a pair of passes and La'Darius Newbold just missed out on an interception on the sidelines.  Harris continued his solid day with a sack during the team session on a corner blitz that left him unblocked as Thelen reversed field on a bootleg.  

As the final team session began, the offense slowed things down and focused on a heavy running attack by Towns, Moreira and DeMarco Corbin.  The defense fought back and picked up a pair of tackles for loss courtesy for James Graham and Matt McCown, before the whistle blew for the final no-huddle session.

The 20-play session was split between Kolbe and Thelen, who each took turns managing the clock.  Kolbe connected with Jefferson and Matt Biegalski during his first rotation and Thelen found Spencer Schnell for a 40-yard gain over the middle, before a sack by Matt Swaine and pass breakup by Bryce Holm from his middle linebacker spot nearly resulted in a pick.  Kicker Sean Slattery sent the Redbirds into the break on a high note, as he booted a 47-yard field goal through the uprights to end the workout.

ISU will return to the field Tuesday at 3:30 p.m., for the third practice of the spring at Hancock Stadium.  For live practice updates, photos and video follow the official Redbird Football Twitter account @RedbirdFB and log onto GoRedbirds.com for full coverage throughout the spring.

GoRedbirds.com:  Your online source for Illinois State Athletics, tickets, Weisbecker Scholarship Fund gifts, multimedia, Redbird merchandise, photos and more.