Fall Camp Report 1: Here We Go

Photo Gallery  |  Dalton Keene Interview

NORMAL, Ill. – A summer's worth of hard work and preparation paid off for the Illinois State football players and coach Sunday, when the Redbirds gathered for their first practice of fall training camp on the turf at Hancock Stadium.

With a new season comes several new faces and a lot of excitement, which could be felt standing on the sidelines watching the first day's action. As become a feature of camps run by eight-year head coach Brock Spack, the first acclimation day focused on fundamentals and technique, with the experienced ISU staff working players through their respective drills on a sunny and warm first day.

A special teams circuit started things off, with groups running to pockets around the field to work on different drills.  Kick and punt returners received kicks from ISU punter Reece Attard, while tacklers focused on sprinting down the field, squaring up ball carriers and driving through the tackle.  Individual position drills followed, before a spirited blitz drill commenced.

With no pads on, the drill wasn't as physical as usual, but that didn't mean the defense wasn't hungry to get to the quarterback. Josh Sromovsky picked up a sack on quarterback Jake Kolbe on the second play of the drill and, after a couple of quick completions, Jason Harris recorded a sack on Koty Thelen. The offense adjusted and did not allow a sack for the remainder of the drill, the action moved to the first of two 7-on-7 periods.

Kolbe missed on his first attempt, but then completed his next six passes including a pair to All-American wide receiver Anthony Warrum, who broke one for a 70-yard touchdown after a nice move on a defender at the line of scrimmage. Senior Jeremy Graves also caught a pair of passes in his first action since suffering a knee injury last fall.  Pass breakups by Alejandro Rivera and Decxavier Kelly-Martin gave the defense some momentum and an interception by La'Darius Newbold ended the first session.

The inside run drill followed with receivers and defensive backs working on one-on-one drill simultaneously.  Then the second 7-on-7 session began and Kolbe was strong again, finishing 7-of-9 with another touchdown connection to Warrum and a pair of connections each with Graves and tight end Michael Clements.  

A 25-play team period was next on the schedule, and the early focus was on establishing the run.  Senior Jamal Towns took the early carries and George Moreira had a couple of strong carries as well.  Sromovsky continued his strong play with another sack and two plays later, Newbold and Rivera broke up passes on consecutive plays. After things settled a bit for the offense, an interception by Jawill Aldridge and a sack by Dalton Keene swung the momentum again in favor of the defense. Practice ended with kickers Sean Slattery and Zach Breen putting footballs through the uprights as the horn blew.

ISU will return to the field Monday at 3p.m., for the second practice of the fall 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 fall camp.

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