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 Head coach Brock Spack knows what his players are going through,
but he hopes they continue to work through the adversity and continue
to get better for the remainder of camp.
"At this point in camp it becomes a grind for the players," Spack
said. "We hold physical practices, and bumps and bruises begin to
mount. In the fall, it's a bit different because we add a lot of
young players to the mix and walk-ons, so the numbers are greater
and the players have to take fewer reps. However, right now we have
to work with what we have, and it's up to the players to maintain
their focus and fight through to give their full effort in the final three
workouts."
The Redbirds focused heavily in the red zone once again and began
the team session with a red zone blitz drill. The defense dominated
early on, with sacks by Will Davis, Evan Frierson and Colton
Underwood. That was followed by an interception by Ezra Thompson on
a Matt Brown pass, and Justin Lane was later picked off by Dontae
McCoy. The offense got the last laugh when Adam Pittser connected
with Donovan Harden for a touchdown to cap off the drill.
The 7-on-7 period also found its way to the red zone, and the defense
was stout once again. Brown was forced to throw a pair of passes
away due to strong coverage in the secondary early on, before
Cameron Meredith took his shot and went 3 for 3 with completions to
Milton Colbert and Nick Bellamy. Justin Lane later had his turn and
also went 3 for 3, with completions to Brian Athey and Phil Dudley.
The defense answered, as McCoy batted down a pair of passes
during the ensuing plays, as did Austin Davis and Pat Meehan.
Following another pass breakup by Adam Rebholz, Brown righted the
ship and ended the drill with back-to-back touchdown passes to
Harden and James O'Shaughnessy.
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Cameron Hunt got the offense off to a quick start during the
final drill of the day. Hunt broke loose for a 30-yard touchdown
run up the middle during the team red zone session to put the
defense on its heals early. Thompson quickly answered for the
defense four plays later, as he intercepted his second pass of
the day to put an end to drive led by Meredith.
The first-team unit struck back with a 24-yard touchdown pass
from Brown to O'Shaughnessy, but the seesaw battle continued on
the next drive when a breakup by Matt Goldsmith and another sack
by Will Davis forced the three-and-out. Brown capped off the day
on a high note for the offense with a 10-yard touchdown pass to
Lechein Neblett before the whistle blew to signal the end of
practice.
The Redbirds will continue their spring workouts with a
scrimmage Saturday morning, which is closed to the public.
[Text from
news release received from Michael
Williams, Illinois State University]
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