TexasTerror
March 25th, 2006, 11:55 AM
16 starters returning and 43 letterwinners. Not too bad for a team that was six points away from the I-AA playoffs (three-point losses to both Youngstown St and Western Kentucky) and a 9-2 record that would have been good enough for a I-AA playoff berth, especially since one of those other two losses were to I-A Iowa State.
This is a team I'll be keeping an eye on. Granted they did lose some big impact players, they return too many players who contributed. Having Southern Illinois, Youngstown St and Missouri St at home will help. That season finale against Northern Iowa in the UNIDome will mean a lot!
NORMAL, Ill. - Beginning on Sunday, the Illinois State football team will have 15 practices, including the annual Red-White Scrimmage on April 22, over a 28-day span as the Redbirds begin preparation for the 2006 season with their annual spring camp. The `Birds will hold their first workout on Sunday at Hancock Stadium at 3 p.m., in helmets and shorts.
The Redbirds, who finished 2005 with a 7-4 mark, are coming off a memorable season, but are focused on making the NCAA I-AA Playoffs in 2006. ISU has 43 letterwinners returning, including 16 starters.
"We have some definite goals heading into spring," head coach Denver Johnson. "We have a lot of guys coming back, but we also lost guys like (Brent) Hawkins, Stafford (Davis) and (Mike) Stegeman, who really played a lot of ball for us. So we have some definite holes to fill and now it's time for some of our young guys to break through. We look for (camp) to be very competitive and we are looking forward to seeing who is going to step up for us."
http://goredbirds.collegesports.com/sports/m-footbl/sched/ilsu-m-footbl-sched.html
This is a team I'll be keeping an eye on. Granted they did lose some big impact players, they return too many players who contributed. Having Southern Illinois, Youngstown St and Missouri St at home will help. That season finale against Northern Iowa in the UNIDome will mean a lot!
NORMAL, Ill. - Beginning on Sunday, the Illinois State football team will have 15 practices, including the annual Red-White Scrimmage on April 22, over a 28-day span as the Redbirds begin preparation for the 2006 season with their annual spring camp. The `Birds will hold their first workout on Sunday at Hancock Stadium at 3 p.m., in helmets and shorts.
The Redbirds, who finished 2005 with a 7-4 mark, are coming off a memorable season, but are focused on making the NCAA I-AA Playoffs in 2006. ISU has 43 letterwinners returning, including 16 starters.
"We have some definite goals heading into spring," head coach Denver Johnson. "We have a lot of guys coming back, but we also lost guys like (Brent) Hawkins, Stafford (Davis) and (Mike) Stegeman, who really played a lot of ball for us. So we have some definite holes to fill and now it's time for some of our young guys to break through. We look for (camp) to be very competitive and we are looking forward to seeing who is going to step up for us."
http://goredbirds.collegesports.com/sports/m-footbl/sched/ilsu-m-footbl-sched.html