McLean County Times

NORMAL, Ill. – Nearly three weeks into fall training camp, the Illinois State football team continues to focus on improvement during each practice session. On Wednesday, the Redbirds concentrated on incremental progress in practice No. 12 as they prepare for their season opener at Iowa on August 31.

During the passing under pressure drill, Tommy Rittenhouse completed early passes to Xavier Loyd and Eddie Kasper before Jake Rubley took over and completed his first four passes. Freshman Beckham Pellant also participated, completing four of his first five attempts before Doreon Dubose batted down a pass intended for Rylan Crawford.

In the blitz period, Rubley connected with Luke Mailander and Tommy Donovan. After a strong run by Cal Martine, freshman Jashawn Echols intercepted a pass and returned it for a potential touchdown.

Tye Niekamp made an immediate impact in the perimeter drill by tackling Seth Glatz in the backfield. Rittenhouse then scrambled for a first down and completed passes to Andrew Rockford and Matt Lawson.

In the 7-on-7 session, Rubley went 5-for-6 with completions to Eddie Kasper and Scotty Presson Jr., while Rittenhouse was 4-for-6 with connections to Mailander and Brett Spaulding. Pellant finished the session going 3-for-4 with completions to Dylan Lord.

The team session featured a two-minute drill where the offense needed a touchdown to "win." On the first drive, Rittenhouse found Mitch Bartol for a significant gain before Wenkers Wright moved the ball past midfield. The offense scored when Rittenhouse ran for a touchdown. In the second series, Josh Robinson's long run and Rubley's completion to Presson set up Robinson's 24-yard touchdown run.

The Redbirds will return to practice on Friday morning at 8:30 a.m. For updates from the 2024 Redbird Football Spring Camp, follow @RedbirdFB on X and isuredbirdfb on Instagram or visit GoRedbirds.com.

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