By Bryan Bloodworth
NORMAL – Numbers can be deceiving. Just as Illinois State football coach Brock Spack.
His team returns nine starters on offense, but must replace nearly 5,000 yards of total offense with the graduation of All-American running back Marshaun Coprich and multi-talented quarterback Tre Roberson.
That still doesn’t seem to concern Spack, who enters his eighth season at the helm with a 56-29 record and four Football Championship Subdivision playoff appearances in the last five years.
“We’re pretty optimistic.” said Spack, whose team is ranked 10th nationally, but only fourth in the Missouri Valley Conference poll. “I kind of like (the conference ranking). Our team seems to respond to that pretty well. I really don’t pay much attention to that, but I’d rather be that way than picked first because there’s only one direction to go.
“We have high expectations for our team. We always do and no one has higher expectations on us than we do. We expect to be good, but a lot of things have to go our way. We have to stay healthy and guys have to keep developing and some people you’re not expecting to come through for you need to come through to have a special year.
“What the pundits or so-called experts see is that we lost about 5,000 yards in offense with our quarterback and tailback and they think that’s going to be hard to overcome. But we have everybody else back on offense.”
The Redbirds, who finished 10-3 last year and advanced to the quarterfinal round of the playoffs, will be gunning for a school-record third straight playoff appearance and Missouri Valley Conference championship. ISU has shared for the Valley title with five-time defending national champion North Dakota State the last two years.
Spack has high hopes for redshirt sophomore Jake Kolbe, who takes for Roberson at quarterback.
“We like our quarterback,” added Spack. “He’ll be a little different style than what we’ve had the last couple of years. He can run. He runs well enough. He’s got plenty of foot speed and quickness. He’s tough and can make all the throws, which is what we like and processes information pretty well.”
The 6-foot-3, 200-pound Kolbe saw action in six games last year and completed 26 of 40 passes for 264 yards and two touchdowns with one interception.
“I don’t feel like people really understand what we have under center,” Spack continued. “The question mark on offense will be who’s going to be the running back. Is there going to be a go-to guy or are we going to do it by committee. We have six guys in camp and we’ll be able to find a couple out of that group.”
Jamal Towns, a senior, is the most experienced option with three years of backup experience under his belt. He was the team’s third leading rusher last year with 164 yards on 28 carries with a pair of touchdowns. Moreira, a redshirt sophomore, and redshirt freshman DeMarco Corbin should get carries at tailback.
The fullback (or blocking back) spot is in capable hands with the return of preseason senior all-conference pick Brady Tibbits and redshirt freshman Jake Hendershot.
Warrum, a preseason all-conference choice and a third-team All-American selection, leads the receiving corps. He caught 58 passes for 1,290 yards – the third most in a single season in ISU history – and set a school record with 15 touchdown receptions.
Talented junior Christian Gibbs also returns despite missing time because of injury. He averaged 20.2 yards per catch, while junior Anthony Fowler had 14 catches. Others, who should be in the mix, include Bryce Jefferson, Chase Pankey, Jeremy Graves and Schnell.
Junior Michael Clements and sophomore Tylor Petkovich return at tight end, along with John Nicholson and Berry, splitting time on both sides of the ball.
All five starters are back on the line, anchored by preseason all-league picks Mark Spelman and Kyle Avaloy. Spelman was an all-league pick at center last year, while Avaloy was a second-team pick at left guard.
Other returning starters are right tackle Dan Pawlak, left guard Cameron Lee and left tackle Ryan Gelber. Dean Helt, Chad Kanugh, Tyler Brown, Central Catholic High School product George Hoselton and Alec Diab will serve as back-ups.
Bloomington native Billy Dicken and Dan Clark will carry co-offensive coordinator titles this year. Dicken will be in the booth calling the plays with Clark on the field working with the line.
“It’s been a seamless transition because Billy has kind of been a co-coordinator for the passing game and Dan has been a co-coordinator of the pass protection and running game,” said Spack. “They both shared a lot in the decisions last year and they get along really well.
Illinois State opens the 2016 season at Hancock Stadium Saturday, Sept. 3, against Valparaiso at 6 p.m.
Bryan Bloodworth can be reached at [email protected]
