NORMAL, Ill. – The Redbirds worked through the nearly two-hour session in helmets, as they opened preparations for the beginning of the season at Iowa on August 31.
Practice Highlights:
•   Practice began with a team stretch and a special teams circuit, and after the individual position group period the action moved to the first of two 7-on-7 sessions.
•   Working two huddles, quarterbacks Jake Rubley and Tommy Rittenhouse controlled the first huddle while quarterbacks Jimmy Makuh and Beckham Pellant worked out of the second huddle … Rubley was 5-for-5 in the first session, with a pair of completions to Tommy Donovan, while Rittenhouse was 4-for-6 with two connections to Eddie Kasper … Makuh was on target in the second huddle, finishing 6-for-6 with a pair of completions to freshman Dylan Lord … Pellant finished his first session going 3-for-4 and found freshman wideout Brett Kasper twice.
•   The blitz drill followed with Mark Cannon Jr. picking up the first defensive play of the day as he knocked down a pass at the line of scrimmage coming off a corner blitz … the offense then got back into rhythm as Rittenhouse completed his next two passes to Mitch Bartol and to Mason King out of the backfield … later in the drill, Cannon was back at it as he knocked down a pass in coverage and the final stop of the session came on a pass deflection at the line of scrimmage by Jake Anderson.
•   A second special teams circuit followed and focused on the punt return, with Ian Wagner, Hayden Futch and Dylan Ritchie each taking turns kicking to Xavier Loyd, Daniel Sobkowicz, Eddie Kasper, Chris Taylor and Braden Contreras returning the punts.
•   The highlight of a quick perimeter drill came when linebacker Patrick Bauer dropped in coverage and picked off a pass leaping over the middle of the field to cap things off.
•   The second 7-on-7 session followed with Rittenhouse going 4-for-6 with connections to Rylan Crawford and Valient Walsh, while Rubley was 3-for-6 while finding Jalen Carr and Seth Glatz … Makuh was also solid, finishing 3-for-5 with another connection to Lord and one to Luke Mailander.
•   The final drill of the day was the team session, which featured first and second down play situations on the defense's side of the field … the offense started well with three completions, before Garret Steffen broke free for a sack for the defense … the first touchdown of the drill came on a 29-yard touchdown pass from Rubley to Contreras in the back corner of the endzone … the second and final touchdown of the session came on a 33-yard strike over the middle from Rittenhouse to Loyd for a score.
Up Next:Â
With the first practice in the books, the Redbirds continue on Friday morning at 8:30 a.m. for the second practice of fall training camp. For updates, photos, and video from 2024 Redbird Football Spring Camp, follow the team's official X (@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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