NORMAL, Ill. – It was crunch time for the Redbirds, as they closed practice with situational drills Tuesday morning at Hancock Stadium. The team wrapped up with second down and yards to go situations, and driving the football from their own 37-yard line with four minutes to go on the clock.
Practice Highlights:
• Practice opened once again with head coach Brock Spack bringing the whole team to midfield, where they created a circle around the logo and watched teammates go one-on-one, as players lined up nose to nose and see who could win the battle … Offensive lineman Trey Georgie and defensive lineman Jason Lewan were the first to match up, tight end Tanner Taula and linebacker Ryan Guhl were the second duo to square off and the 'lightweight bout' featured wideout Kentre Patterson and defensive back Peyton Jones
• In the situational drills at the end of practice, the offense was able to move the sticks on 14-of-20 plays on second down with various yards to go. In the four minute drill, the first team went eight plays for 34 yards to run out the clock, while the second team went 3-and-out with negative seven yards and a delay of game penalty
• Quarterbacks Jake Kolbe and Brady Davis finished the day with a touchdown apiece, as Kolbe went 12-for-17 for 121 yards, and Davis went 9-for-15 for 109 yards
• Running backs James Robinson, Markel Smith, Jordan Birch, and Nick Kielbasa carried and caught the football out of the backfield for the Redbirds in the drills throughout the morning and each recorded strong runs throughout the day
• Wide receivers Braxton Haley and freshman Eric Rogers each caught a 31-yard touchdown pass during the 7-on-7 session
• Against the added defensive pressure in the blitz drill, the three quarterbacks were a combined 4-for-8 for 43 yards with an interception and sack … Lewan recorded the turnover of the day, tipping a Kolbe pass at the line of scrimmage and then snagging the falling football out of the air for the interception
Thoughts From Coach Spack:
"It was a grinder today, very physical out there. It certainly looked like training camp out there today, but when we watched the film back the intensity and physicality were there. We worked on a key four-minute drill at the end of practice and our first-team unit did a great job of running out the clock, which can be a critical part of the game. The second-team defense did a great job getting the ball back on the next series, which was good to see. The whole day went back and forth, with both sides making plays, and fought through some fatigue at the start, chomped on the bit and finished strong."
Camp News & Notes:
• The team will be out of pads, and go only helmets tomorrow for practice
• Saturday will be the team's annual Red-White Scrimmage at 4 p.m. … a full-rundown of what to expect in the scrimmage will be posted on Friday at GoRedbirds.com
Up Next:
ISU returns to the field tomorrow, Wednesday, August 15 at 8:30 a.m. for practice No. 11. For live updates, photos, and video from 2018 Redbird Football Fall Camp, follow the team's official Twitter account @RedbirdFB and log onto GoRedbirds.com.
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