Photo Gallery | Bryce Holm Interview
NORMAL, Ill. – The grind continues, as the Illinois State Football team practiced in shells for the first time Tuesday and put in another hard day's work under overcast skies during day three of Redbird fall camp at Hancock Stadium.
It was business as usual at the start of practice, as the team broke into a brief special team's circuit followed by a 12-play blitz session. All four quarterbacks got the chance to throw the pigskin during blitz, but it was the Redbird defense that got things going with Josh Sromovsky taking down quarterback Jake Kolbe just two plays into the session. Kolbe responded with a 30-yard touchdown pass to Nick Griffith deep in the slot to tally the first touchdown of the afternoon.
The momentum then swung back to the defense with Willie Edwards breaking up Koty Thelen's pass, and then Tuvone Clark sacking Thelen on the ensuing play. The blitz period ended on a positive note with freshman quarterbacks Malachi Broadnax and Tristan Smith both tallying a pair of 25-yard completions to Weslye Brown.
From blitz, the Redbirds transitioned into individual work with co-offensive coordinator Billy Dicken led the quarterbacks through a play-action passing drill. At the opposite end of the field, defensive coordinator Spence Nowinsky worked with the lineman emphasizing staying square to the line of scrimmage all while staying low and moving quick.
Following a brief, but active perimeter drill, the 'Birds gathered at the south end of the field for part one of their usual 7-on-7 period. Thelen wasted no time, throwing the ball deep down field to Anthony Fowler to complete the 70-yard touchdown. Kolbe also started off hot, connecting with Anthony Warrum for the 35-yard gain. The defense highlighted the end of the session as DraShane Glass and Bryce Holm each disrupting the offense with pass breakups.
Half of the teams then went into a 1-on-1 drill, while the others participated in a 9-on-7 period. It was Thelen's touchdown pass up the middle to Jeremy Graves that dialed up the intensity, before Cole Bumpus ended the session with an interception off of Kolbe's pass.
The Redbirds then continued with part two of their 7-on-7 session, as Kolbe was stellar going 8-for-8 and throwing three touchdowns. Kolbe's success started early when he connected with Tyler Petkovich for a 20-yard gain. But, the show-stopper of the drill came when Michael Clements caught the ball between the defenseman's arms and came down inbounds to pick up a solid 25-yard gain. Later on, Kolbe threw a pair of 70-yard touchdowns to Spencer Schnell and Fowler and then ended the session with a long pass to Christian Gibbs who caught it with one arm and ran it into the end zone.
During the final team session which ended practice, the Redbirds focused on coming out of the end zone with the ball at the 20-yard line. The emphasis was almost exclusively on the running game, highlighted by an 80-yard breakaway by senior running back Jamal Towns that resulted in a touchdown. The defense took over toward the end of the session as Decxavier Kelly-Martin reached Kolbe for the sack, followed by a tackle for loss by Nathan Iloilo as the final horn blew.
The Redbirds will host media day Wednesday morning at Hancock Stadium, before practicing in full pads for the first time this fall as they take the field at 3:30 p.m. Wednesday afternoon for the fourth practice of fall camp. For live practice updates, photos and video follow the official Redbirds Football Twitter account @RedbirdFB and log onto GoRedbirds.com for full live coverage throughout the fall camp.
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