NORMAL, Ill. – Now in its third full week of spring practice, the Illinois State football team is prepping for its first full team scrimmage this weekend and put together another strong practice on Thursday morning inside the OSF HealthCare Athletics Training Center. The Redbirds rolled through the two-hour workout in full pads, focusing on red zone and two-minute situations.

Practice Highlights:
•    Practice began with special teams and individual position work, before action shifted to the first 11-on-11 work in the passing under pressure drill. Quarterback Beckham Pellant completed 7-of-12 pass attempts during the session, with a pair of completions to Eddie Kasper and one each to Gavin Camp, Scotty Presson Jr. and Quinten Johnson. The defense got into the act as well, as Ben Harman broke up a pass at the line of scrimmage and Shadwell Nkuba II made a great break in coverage to make a near interception. The series ended with a sack by Travis Jones, as action moved to the blitz period.
•    During the blitz drill that followed, Pellant connected a couple times with Brett Kasper to avoid sacks, but the defense made a big play on the fourth play, as a tipped pass over the middle intended for a tight end was intercepted and returned for a touchdown by safety Chris Taylor. Pellant got back into rhythm with connections to Xavier Loyd and Kasper and running backs Matt Lawson and Victor Dawson each picked up first-down runs. Nkuba got the last laugh for the defense, as he broke up another pass to end the session. 
•    The action then moved to the red zone, as the 7-on-7 period started from the 20-yard line. On the second play of the drill, Pellant found Loyd wide open over the middle for the touchdown. On the next play from the 18-yard line, Pellant found Johnson for another score in the corner of the end zone. The next touchdown game from the 16-yard line, when Andrew Rockford tiptoed on the sideline to record the touchdown from Pellant. On the second to last play of the drill, Pellant found Brady Probst in the flat and he turned it up field for the touchdown, the fourth of the session.
•    A team red-zone period was next, with the 1s, 2s and 3s each having a chance to score. The first-team unit took advantage of an offsides penalty on third and long to get new life and made the most of it, as Pellan connected on a 12-yard touchdown pass to Camp. The second-team unit was held to a field goal attempt in four plays, however the third-team unit was able to find the endzone as Matt Lawson bowled his way in to the end zone for a 5-yard score.
•    A 2-minute period wrapped things up, with the first-team offense not being able to score and the second-team unit was also thwarted, as Nkuba made a great diving play for an interception to cap off the practice.

Up Next: 
The Redbirds will be back on the field on Saturday at 9:30 a.m. at Hancock Stadium for practice No. 8 of the spring. For updates, photos, and video from 2025 Redbird Football Spring Camp, follow the team's official X (@RedbirdFB) and Instagram (isuredbirdfb) accounts and log onto GoRedbirds.com.

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