Northwestern State eyes consistency, attention to detail in first spring scrimmage

NATCHITOCHES – The midway point of Northwestern State’s 2023 spring football practice will hit halfway through the first scrimmage of spring camp Thursday night.

As the Demons go through that 6:30 p.m. scrimmage, they do so with a couple of key points in mind.

“One, you look at consistency,” head coach Brad Laird said. “We have our seventh practice (Wednesday) and our eighth (Thursday) with the scrimmage. You want to start seeing some consistency and guys stepping up. We’ve probably had two or three situations where we’ve gone live and been able to tackle. Tomorrow night, during the scrimmage, it will be a great opportunity to get 80, 90 maybe 100 snaps of different situations to work on tackling and breaking tackles. We’re excited to be able to finish practice eight with a scrimmage.”

In addition to looking for consistency, the Demons will fold a new addition into Thursday’s scrimmage, taking the field for the first time this spring with officials.

Nearly halfway through their allotment of 15 spring workouts, the Demons’ collective personality is taking shape.

“This is a group you haven’t had to kick in the butt to get going,” Laird said. “They’ve been ramped up since Day 1 and haven’t let up. I’ll give credit to them. When they get between the white lines, it’s great effort, great intensity, great enthusiasm. The biggest thing that will get answered after the scrimmage will be the attention to detail we’ve talked about. It’s one thing to be able to play with great effort, but you’ve got to do the right thing. That’s been our biggest message since Day 1 – attention to detail along with turnovers and takeaways. After the scrimmage, we’ll have a good idea of where we are.”

NSU coaches and fans alike will have a better idea of what the 2023 roster looks like following the scrimmage as well.

Those who come to Turpin Stadium on Thursday evening will see 17 newcomers in their first competitive setting as Demons. The newcomers quickly have meshed with the returners since arriving in January.

“That’s a credit to the guys who were here first and foremost,” Laird said. “It was a smooth transition. That’s a credit to those guys and to the coaches. Mixing those guys in and seeing where they fit in all three phases has been fun. It’s been fun to move some guys around and see what’s the best fit. It’s good to see we hit on a lot of those guys we added back in January. It’s been good to see them in a practice format.”