A week before the McNeese State football spring game, fans will have a chance to get their first glimpse of the 2017 edition of the Cowboys when they play their first open scrimmage of the spring at 10 a.m. today at the A.I. Ratcliff Practice Fields.
The Cowboys have been practicing for two weeks, and while they have had full-contact practices, this will be their first practice that will be live from start to finish.
And that has players excited.
“We’re most definitely ready to get out there and get live contact every play,” said senior linebacker Ashari Goins. “You just get antsy and sometimes it just all comes out. … It’s just like a normal practice, just with a little bit more umph to it.”
As far as expectations, head coach Lance Guidry said he wants to leave the scrimmage feeling conflicted.
“Hopefully the offense can come out and establish some type of run game and convert on some third downs” Guidry said. “Of course, on defense you want to stop the run and get off the field on third down, so I hope each side does well.
“I hope I feel good and bad. I hope I feel really good about the offense and some bad about the offense, and the same thing on defense. You want things as balanced as possible.”
The scrimmage will kick off with a 2-minute drill before each unit runs through three regular games that will pit the No. 1 offense against the No. 1 defense, the No. 2 offense against the No. 2 defense and the No. 3 offense against the No. 3 defense. Each of these regular games will last roughly 20-25 plays, he said.
Once all three units have competed, the Cowboys will finish the scrimmage with an overtime-situation drill.
“We’re very excited to go live the whole time,” said sophomore defensive back Colby Burton. “Getting that first real live practice is going to be good. For those players who have question marks will have a chance to show a lot.”
After a pair of practices earlier in the week in which Guidry said the offense struggled, quarterback James Tabary and company seemed to be firing on all cylinders during Friday’s practice.
While the team was practicing in helmets and the defense couldn’t tackle, Tabary regularly found open receivers and frustrated the defense.
“The offense really played well today,” Guidry said. “That was good to see because the last couple days the defense has been bullying them a little bit. Today they responded back. That’s a good thing. You never want to dominate on one side or the other for the whole spring.”
Tabary said he hopes he and the rest of the offense can carry that momentum into the scrimmage.
“We had a big day today going into the scrimmage,” Tabary said. “We played with a lot of confidence and a lot of speed. Our defense is tough. It’s hard going up against them every day. … Tomorrow we just want to focus on moving the chains, being consistent and taking care of the football.”
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