NORMAL, Ill. – The Illinois State football coaching staff gave its players a week off over the University's spring break to recharge a bit from a busy start to the spring semester, however that break ended abruptly on Tuesday when the Redbirds returned to the turf at Hancock Stadium to resume Spring Camp '23.
For the first time in the spring, the Redbirds put on shoulder pads and had their first contact this spring on a cold and windy morning in the Twin Cities. The 'Birds shook off some early rust and came back to have a spirited workout to begin a stretch of practices and scrimmages that will lead up to the annual Spring Showcase scrimmage on April 15.
Practice Highlights:
•   After a pep talk from head coach Brock Spack, practice opened with a team stretch and a special teams circuit, before the team broke off into position groups to run through individual drills.
•   After the individual period, the focus shifted to putting the Redbird quarterbacks under pressure with a pair of pass rush drills … quarterbacks Zack Annexstad, Tommy Rittenhouse and Mason Kaplan each took turns avoiding defenders to try to move the offense down the field.
•   Annexstad finished the drill 4-for-6 with a pair of completions to Eddie Kasper and one each to Daniel Sobkowicz and Wenkers Wright … Rittenhouse went 2-for-4 with completions to I'Shawn Stewart and Jalen Carr and Kaplan was 3-for-4 with two completions to Rylan Crawford.
•   On the defensive side, the defense front forced several incompletions and hurried throws, and newly converted defensive back Nigel White recorded a pass breakup.
•   Following the blitz drill, some pods work and the 9-on-7 session, the 7-on-7 session began with the quarterbacks taking their chances as airing it out down the field … Annexstad was the first to strike big, as he connected with Sobkowicz on a 30-yard completion down the field on a diving grab by the wideout … on the next play, Kaplan didn't want to be outdone and he connected with his former Valparaiso teammate Braden Contreras on a 25-yard completion … two plays later, Annexstad hit another big play as he found Camo Nelson for a 40-yard gain down the field … Rittenhouse was also solid, going 4-for-4 with connections to Brett Spaulding and Scotty Presson Jr.
•   The team session followed, with the defense coming up with big stops early including a sack by Cam Wilson and tackle-for-loss by Reese Edwards … as things moved on, Annexstad took over and had a pair of big completions to Kasper and to newcomer Cam Grandy.
•   Practice ended with kickers Ian Wagner and Josh Jasek each taking turns booting field goals and extra point attempts through the uprights, as the defense worked on alignment and schemes to block kicks.
Up Next:Â
The Redbirds return to the field Thursday morning at 8:30 a.m. for practice No. 4. For updates, photos, and video from 2023 Redbird Football Fall Camp, follow the team's official Twitter (@RedbirdFB) and Instagram (isuredbirdfb) accounts and log onto GoRedbirds.com.
GoRedbirds.com and the Illinois State Redbirds App: Â Your sources for Illinois State tickets, Weisbecker Athletic Fund gifts, multimedia, Redbird merchandise, photos and more.
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