Redbird Football Opens Spring Camp March 15

NORMAL, Ill. – The college basketball season may be heading into madness, but spring football is just around the corner for Illinois State which begins its spring workout period on Sunday, March 15. That will be the first of 15 workouts for the Redbirds this spring, with the final being the team's annual Spring Showcase scrimmage on April 11 at Noon at Hancock Stadium

This year's spring camp coverage will once again be presented by COUNTRY Financial, with periodic camp reports, video features and photo galleries scheduled to be posted on GoRedbirds.com, the official home of Illinois State Athletics. Selected content will also be posted throughout camp on Redbird Football's social media accounts on Twitter (@RedbirdFB) and Instagram (@isuredbirdfb) and ISU's official athletics department accounts.

The Redbirds are led by veteran head coach Brock Spack, who begins his 12th season at the helm of the program.  In his 11 previous seasons as head coach, Spack has posted an overall record of 84-50 (.627) and a mark of 53-35 (.602) in Missouri Valley Football Conference play. During that time, he has led the Redbirds to five FCS playoff appearances and back-to-back Missouri Valley Football Conference championships in 2014-15. The 2014 team advanced to the NCAA FCS National Championship game against North Dakota State, marking the first appearance for the Redbirds in the title contest.

Illinois State returns 55 letterwinners and 17 starters (eight offense, nine defense) from last year's squad that won 10 games and advanced to the FCS quarterfinals for the fourth time since 2012. All-American left tackle Drew Himmelman highlights a talented group of returning players that also includes All-Missouri Valley Football Conference First-Team selections in Devin Taylor and Romeo McKnight and MVFC honorable mention picks in John Ridgeway and Paul Monaco.

The 2020 squad will be anchored by one of the best defenses in FCS football, which returns nine starters from last season. In 2019, the Redbird defense ranked in the Top 10 in eight national defensive categories, including ranking No. 1 overall in red zone defense (.614). ISU also led the FCS in team sacks with 52, which also ranked No. 2 in all of NCAA Division I and had the No. 4 scoring defense in the country allowing just 16 points per contest.

Illinois State's offense will have to replace the loss of All-American tailback James Robinson and a pair of offensive linemen in Jared Rients and Adam Solomon, but a young core returns and several key starters should be back to full speed after injury come August. Quarterback Brady Davis and wide receiver Taylor Grimes will be very limited in the spring after recovering from offseason knee injuries, but quarterback Bryce Jefferson, running back Jeff Proctor and wideout Andrew Edgar will be full go this spring looking to re-charge the once-potent Redbird offensive attack.

2020 Redbird Football Spring Camp Schedule:
•    Sunday, March 15 – 6:30 p.m.
•    Tuesday, March 17 – 3:30 p.m.
•    Thursday, March 19 – 3:30 p.m.
•    Saturday, March 21 – 9:15 a.m.
•    Sunday, March 22 – 1:15 p.m.
•    Tuesday, March 24 – 3:30 p.m.
•    Thursday, March 26 – 3:30 p.m.
•    Saturday, March 28 – 9:15 a.m. (CLOSED TO PUBLIC)
•    Tuesday, March 31 – 3:30 p.m.
•    Thursday, April 2 – 3:30 p.m.
•    Saturday, April 4 – 9:15 a.m. (CLOSED TO PUBLIC)
•    Tuesday, April 7 – 3:30 p.m.
•    Thursday, April 9 – 3:30 p.m.
•    Friday, April 10 – 3:30 p.m.
•    Saturday, April 11 – Noon (Spring Showcase / OPEN TO PUBLIC)

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