MURRAY, Ky. — It took Matt Griffin three seasons to turn around the stalled program at Tennessee-Martin. Entering year three of his tenure at Murray State, the head coach sees similar progress in the Racers. “As guys are in your program for two or th… more »

Head Coach Denver Johnson enters his ninth season at the helm of Redbird football in hopes of bringing ISU back to the playoffs after a frustrating season last year. The ISU football team enters the 2008 campaign with a challenging schedule in a reva… more »

NORMAL -- Illinois State football coach Denver Johnson calls his defensive line deep and his secondary solid. The final piece of the puzzle to improving a sub-par defense that haunted the Redbirds in 2007 appears to be the linebackers. “We don’t h… more »

NORMAL — In Kevin Brockway’s first season as Illinois State’s starting quarterback, it appears the fifth-year senior will have plenty of assistance in the backfield. Geno Blow and Walter Mendenhall reeled off long touchdowns runs to highlight the of… more »

NORMAL — Competition on the offensive and defensive lines has Illinois State football coach Denver Johnson curious ahead of Saturday’s 7 p.m. intrasquad scrimmage at Hancock Stadium. The scrimmage is free and open to the public. As part of the univer… more »

NORMAL -- The Illinois State football team has an explosive top returning rusher in Geno Blow, a recent transfer from the University of Illinois in Walter Mendenhall and a hard-running walk-on in Clifton Gordon among its tailbacks. Senior Parrish Fis… more »

Four teams from the Missouri Valley Football Conference (formerly the Gateway) made the Football Championship Subdivision playoffs in 2003. Northern Iowa and Southern Illinois University tied for first place in the league at 6-1. Western Illinois and… more »

NORMAL -- Kelvin Chandler experienced a growth spurt his sophomore year at Dillard High School in Fort Lauderdale, Fla. And while Chandler eventually stretched out to his current 6-foot-2, he never outgrew his childhood nickname of “Smurf.” “My au… more »

NORMAL -- The Brandon Wilson to linebacker experiment ended on Wednesday. Yet Illinois State football coach Denver Johnson says the temporary position switch was far from a failure. Wilson, who led all Redbird defensive linemen in tackles last seaso… more »

NORMAL -- Illinois State offensive line coach Stafford Davis calls Mike Cross “a switch guy.” That is, Cross seems to have an on-off switch which flips “on” when the former Normal Community High School standout steps onto a football field. It unleash… more »

NORMAL -- Picked to finish 8th this year in the Valley preseason poll, the Illinois State football team isn't worrying about expectations. After all, last year the Redbirds were picked second and didn't live up to the billing. "I've been around her… more »

NORMAL — The guesswork is over for Marcus King and Cody White. There is no more wondering about being redshirted on Illinois State’s football team. Head coach Denver Johnson considered playing both last year as true freshmen, but ultimately, decided… more »

NORMAL -- Illinois State football coach Denver Johnson believes Paul Wright bears a resemblance to former Redbird linebacker Kye Stewart. Johnson will be thrilled if Wright plays like ISU’s former all-conference performer as well. “He reminds me… more »

NORMAL -- Dismissed from the University of Minnesota football team in the spring of 2007, E.J. Jones clung to both his innocence and the hope of being reinstated. “I was determined to play. Unfortunately, it didn’t work out,” Jones said Thursday at… more »

NORMAL -- They are former teammates, but they are not former friends. Still, freshly minted Illinois State offensive line coach Stafford Davis promised not to take it easy on Joe Niklasch, Erik Madsen and Landon Humbles. The three Redbird senior off… more »