GoSycamores.com
TERRE HAUTE, Ind. -- It is a picture perfect evening for the Indiana State Sycamores as they capped off the third day of preseason camp 2012 under ideal conditions at Memorial Stadium with a two and half hour workout in shells.
The Sycamores received a break from Mother Nature as temps were in the 80's for most of the practice and a nice breeze was felt for most of the workout.
The Sycamores worked out for the first hour on the main practice field, going through position work and combining several positions group together. The quarterbacks worked with both the running backs and wide receivers while the secondary and linebackers worked together for two periods as well.
Both the offensive and defensive lines spent the greater part of the first hour behind the hill, working on the sled and in the cage with their position coaches.
Everyone merged nearly 45 minutes in on a favorite drill of the squad and coaches -- inside run. The Sycamore defense proved to be strong despite a couple of strong runs early on by Shakir Bell out of the backfield.
After an hour, the football team headed over to work on the grass practice field as the ISU women's soccer team took over the main field.
Both Tanner Fritschle and Eric Heidorn worked with the rest of the "special forces" on kickoff coverage as the two kickers became accustomed to kicking from the 35-yard line, which is a new rule change for 2012. Fritschle handled most of the kickoff duties for the Sycamores last season from the 30-yard line while Heidorn toiled from the 40-yard line last year in the high school ranks.
The offenses and defenses broke up to work against their scout teams and then combined again for two periods of 7-on-7.
The two teams spent more time with 11-on-11, highlights by an inteception return for a touchdown from Mark Sewall -- interesting due to the fact that Sewall is the younger brother of Alex Sewall, who played defensive for the Sycamores the last four years and is now an assistant coach for the offense. Larry King also forced a turnover with a great interception over the middle in which he caught the ball just before it touched the ground.
Big plays for the offense included a breakaway run of 20 yards by Richie Dyer and another long pass hauled in by Donald Spencer off the arm of Mike Perish.
Practice concluded with a period of work broke up into positions and meetings with each player and their position coach.
Practice continues with one more workout in shells on Monday at 6 p.m., before the teams puts on full pads for the first time on Tuesday evening.
