SPRING CAMP REPORT 4: First Scrimmage In The Books

NORMAL, Ill. – Greeted by warm and sunny skies for the first time in a while, the Illinois State football took to the turf at Hancock Stadium on Saturday morning for its first intrasquad scrimmage of spring camp 2024. The Redbirds got a lot of work done, rolling through over 125 plays on a great morning for football.

The scrimmage consisted of several situational periods that included moving out of end zone, driving the field, a red zone session, and a 2-minute drill that allowed the team to get used to the new 2-minute warning timeout at the end of each half like NFL rules.

Scoring Summary:
•    The first score of the day came on a 13-play drive led by transfer quarterback Jake Rubley. Starting at their own 27 yards line, the offense moved down the field thanks to six completions from Rubley and the drive culminated on a 5-yard touchdown pass to Tommy Donovan.
•    Jimmy Makuh recorded the second touchdown pass of the scrimmage, when he capped off a 9-play scoring drive with a 9-yard touchdown pass to Ryan Leyden that was set up by several strong runs by Joshua Ficklin.
•    The third touchdown came during the red zone period, as Rubley found Andrew Rockford for a 13-yard score.
•    A 30-yard field goal by Ian Wagner would then put three more points on the scoreboard and three plays later, Tommy Rittenhouse connected with David Connors Jr. on a 5-yard touchdown.
•    Michael Cosentino would then tack on a 22-yard field goal on the next possession to bring the scoring to an end.

Passing Leaders:
•    Jake Rubley: 13-for-18, 101 yards, 2 TD
•    Tommy Rittenhouse: 14-for-19, 80 yards, 1 TD

Rushing Leaders:
•    Josh Robinson: 16 att., 57 yards
•    Seth Glatz: 10 att., 36 yards
•    Trazhon Tims: 9 att., 44 yards

Receiving Leaders:
•    Tommy Donovan: 12 rec., 75 yards, 1 TD
•    Ryan Leyden: 5 rec., 43 yards, 1 TD
•    Eddie Kasper: 5 rec., 63 yards 
•    David Connors Jr.: 2 rec., 10 yards, 1 TD

Defensive Leaders:
•    Greg Galloway: 7 tackles, 1 TFL
•    Darius Walker: 6 tackles
•    Patrick Bauer: 6 tackles, 1 TFL, 1 sack
•    Tye Niekamp: 5 tackles, 2 TFL, 2 sacks
•    Jack Dwyer: 5 tackles, 2 TFL, 1 sack
•    Keondre Jackson: 4 tackles, 2 PBU, 1 TFL, 1 sack
•    Jake Anderson: 4 tackles, 1 TFL, 1 sack

Up Next: 
The Redbirds will return to the field Tuesday morning for practice at 8:30 a.m. For continued updates, photos, and video, follow the team's official X (@RedbirdFB) and Instagram (isuredbirdfb) accounts and log onto GoRedbirds.com.

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