McNeese holds first scrimmage of spring drills

LAKE CHARLES – McNeese Football held its first scrimmage of spring practice on Saturday, ironically in winter-like conditions in Cowboy Stadium, but despite the weather, second-year head coach Gary Goff was pleased with what he saw from both sides of the ball.

Transfer quarterback Nate Glantz completed 10 of 16 passes for 92 yards and a touchdown in non-redzone situations while newcomer running back Coleby Hamm led the rushers on the ground with 58 yards on five carries.

“I thought it was a pretty good day,” said Goff. “We made a lot of mistakes offensively but the defense did a good job and made a lot of plays. That was expected from the offense with it the first time scrimmaging live. The quarterbacks missed a few reads here and there but it’s a process. Overall, it was a pretty good day.”

The offense scored on a couple of long drives that were quick in taking little time off the clock.

The first TD drive took six plays and went 65 yards in just 1:32. Five of the six plays chewed up yardage from the running game with Hamm recording runs of 18 and 15 yards and then Cam Thomas added a 17-yard burst then scored on a 7-yard run. Thomas finished the day with 37 yards on four carries.

The second non redzone score came on nine plays for 65 yards and took 2:57 off the clock, ending with a 22-yard strike by Glantz to Jalen Johnson.

“The second year of the offense is always a little smoother,” said Goff. “Obviously it’s still new to the quarterbacks but with a lot of the offensive linemen, the running backs and some of the receivers, it’s their second year. You’re able to run it faster, put them some different scenarios, and one thing today, we wanted to put the quarterbacks behind the eight-ball, but them in some crucial situations.

“We’re way ahead of the curve. This time last year, I bet we were sitting at maybe 50 percent of the offense. We have some carry over with the guys from watching film in the offseason, they know when you call out a signal, they know exactly where to line up. We’re able to start blending some concepts together because they’re understanding it. Without a doubt, by the time we get through spring, we’ll definitely have everything installed and by the time we get to camp, we’re going to have some more fun with it.”

The Cowboys will continue spring practice this coming week and will hold their second scrimmage next Saturday at 10 a.m.