NORMAL, Ill. – Don't look now, but spring training camp for Illinois State is nearly half over as the Redbirds took the field for their seventh practice of the spring on an unseasonably warm morning at Hancock Stadium on Thursday.
Practice Highlights:
• Practice began with a quick install period, followed by a full team stretch period and a special teams circuit.
• After individual position drills, action moved to the first team period of the day and the passing under pressure drill … Gage Roy took the opening snaps and completed four-straight passes to get things going before Beckham Pellant moved under center and completed three-of-four attempts, with a pair of connections to Nick Arogundade … the defense finally got home on the third-team unit, as Jamaricus Thomas and Solomon Oduma tallied back-to-back sacks.
• The defense kept the pressure coming in the blitz drill that followed, as it forced two TFLs and had three pass breakups during the session … the offense got off to a great start however, as Victor Dawson split the defense right up the middle for a would be touchdown run … from there, the defense settled down as Doreon Dubose tallied a PBU and then Wyatt Mueller recorded a TFL as he sniffed out a screen pass … Mueller would later add a breakup as well to cap off a strong couple of periods.
• After wide receiver/defensive back 1-on-1s and the 9-on-7 period, a quick perimeter drill followed before the 7-on-7 session commenced … Pellant started things off with a big connection down the sideline to Luke Mailander and then completed his next three attempts to go 4-for-4 in the drill … Roy was 3-for-4, with two connections to Ian Willis, and Cooper Kmet was 3-for-4 with completions to Dylan Lord and Dallas Amos before Mueller added another PBU.
• From there, a sudden-change red zone session started and the first-team unit wasted little time scoring needing just two plays before Pellant connected with Willis for a 7-yard touchdown pass to cap off the first possession … a 27-yard field goal by Casey Roney ended the second possession and the defense forced a three-and-out on the third attempt.
• The final team period of the day was a 2-minute drill, with 1:47 on the clock and the offense needing a field goal to win … with the ball at its own 44, the first-team offense moved quickly to the opposite side of the field on a big connection from Pellant to Mailander and a diving catch from Pellant to Max Ziebarth … the defense then buckled down to force a 49-yard field goal attempt by Michael Cosentino, which he drilled through the uprights … the second-team unit was not as successful, as its drive came to an end on a interception on the sideline by Key Crowell.
Up Next:
The Redbirds will have their first full-squad scrimmage on Saturday (closed to the public) before return to the field next Tuesday for practice No. 9 of spring camp 2026.
For updates, photos, and video from 2026 Redbird Football Spring Camp, follow the team's official X (@RedbirdFB) and Instagram (isuredbirdfb) accounts and log onto GoRedbirds.com.
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