McLean County Times

Illinois State University's football team is nearing the end of its Fall 2025 training camp, with the annual Red-White Scrimmage set for Saturday. Wednesday marked the last full-padded practice before the scrimmage, after which players will begin preparing for their season opener against the Oklahoma Sooners on August 30 in Norman.

During Wednesday's session, both offensive and defensive units worked through their regular installation periods, followed by stretching and a special teams circuit. In the first team session focusing on passing under pressure, quarterback Tommy Rittenhouse completed three consecutive passes after an initial incompletion, including two significant gains to Eddie Kasper. Beckham Pellant also performed well early in practice with three completions out of four attempts, targeting Gavin Camp twice. The defense responded with a pass breakup from Ben Cooper and consecutive sacks by Nate Kraus and Solomon Oduma.

The blitz drill tested the offense’s ability to counter defensive pressure with handoffs to Victor Dawson and Mason King. Defensive momentum returned briefly when Tye Niekamp broke up a pass before freshman quarterback Chase Kwiatkowski connected with Nick True for a substantial gain.

Perimeter drills saw Rittenhouse connecting outside with Luke Mailander and Wenkers Wright executing a long run despite defensive contact. Niekamp recorded a tackle for loss as the first-team unit concluded its segment, while Pellant completed four straight passes in his turn, including two to Dylan Lord.

In the 7-on-7 period, Rittenhouse went 3-for-4 with completions to Kasper and Daniel Sobkowicz; Pellant matched this performance with another notable completion to Camp. Kwiatkowski finished perfect in this segment, connecting on all four attempts including passes to Ian Willis and Luke Olson.

A team period focused on simulating a scenario where the offense needed to maintain possession late in a game. The first-team was forced to punt while Seth Glatz of the second-team broke away for a 78-yard touchdown run.

Both units then practiced red zone scenarios from the 10-yard line and goal line at two yards out. The first-team scored back-to-back touchdowns via Rittenhouse passes to Rylan Crawford and Kasper; however, the second team was held scoreless from ten yards out as Dexter Niekamp batted down one attempt. Pellant later connected with Camp at the goal line as practice ended.

The Redbirds have Thursday off before returning Friday for their thirteenth fall camp practice. Fans can follow updates on official social media accounts or visit GoRedbirds.com for further information about tickets, merchandise, and multimedia content related to Illinois State Athletics at https://goredbirds.com/.