Spring Showcase Video Recap
NORMAL, Ill. – The Illinois State football team officially put a cap on its spring practices Saturday, when the Redbirds split into teams to compete in the annual Spring Showcase scrimmage at Hancock Stadium on a sunny, but windy afternoon.
As has been the story for the majority of the spring, the defense had the upper hand on the offense, as just one touchdown was scored on the day at the Red squad came away with a 7-0 win over the White team. The White squad, which was comprised primarily of the first-team defense and second-team offense, was dominant with five sacks, 12 tackles-for-loss and an interception. Not to be outdone, the Red team, made up of the first-team offense and second-team defense, added a pair of sacks, five TFLs, and forced a pair of fumbles.
"We had a lot of fun playing today," head coach Brock Spack said. "It's hard to evaluate a scrimmage like this until you break down the tape, but we tried to go ones on ones and twos on twos and it came out competitive, which is the way it should be. We had plusses and minuses on both sides of the ball and by no means are we ready to play a big-time game yet, but we are a lot farther ahead now than when we started several weeks ago. Overall, this has been one of the most productive springs we've had since I've been here and we got a lot accomplished."
The lone touchdown of the day was scored by sophomore transfer running back Markel Smith, who led all backs with 55 yards on 11 carries. Taking advantage of good field position after a turnover, Smith powered his way into the end zone from two yards out for the only score of the day to cap off a 32-yard drive. Artiss Henderson, who suited up for both squads, recorded 30 yards on eight carries combined. The windy conditions limited the Redbird quarterbacks all day, however backup Tristan Smith was able to complete 9-of-13 passes for the White team, with the majority of those passes going to Andy Mills who led all receivers with five catches for 35 yards on the day.
On defense, redshirt freshman linebacker Ryan Guhl led all defenders with nine tackles for the Red team, including a pair of sacks with two forced fumbles that resulted in turnovers for his team. Ade Kilpatrick also shined for the Red team with seven tackles and a TFL, and linebacker Ryan Zitkus also added seven stops.
Safety Mitchell Brees paced the White team offense with seven total tackles, while Davontae Harris added five stops and recorded a game-high 2.5 TFLs to go along with a pair of pass breakups. Decxavier Kelly-Martin also had five tackles, two of which were sacks, and Matt Swaine also tallied five tackles and a pair of quarterback hurries. Safety Luther Kirk recorded the only takeaway for the White team, when he intercepted Jake Kolbe early in the scrimmage.
The team's focus now turns to preparing for final exams and finishing the semester strong academically. The Redbirds will then return to Hancock Stadium in late July to begin fall training camp in preparation for the 2017 season opener Sept. 2 against Butler. Season tickets are on sale now and can be purchased online at GoRedbirds.com/tickets or by calling the ISU Athletics Ticket Office at (309) 438-8000.
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