By Jason Pugh, Northwestern State Associate Athletic Director for External Relations; featured photo by Chris Reich, NSU Photographic Services
NATCHITOCHES – Through two weeks of fall camp, the Northwestern State football team has stacked good days on top of good days.
The next step for the Demons comes Saturday morning when they go through a scrimmage with referees on hand, which happens at 8:45 a.m. at Turpin Stadium and wraps up the second week of camp.
“This will be our second scrimmage but the first big one with officials out there,” first-year head coach Blaine McCorkle said. “We’ll follow the same format we did Wednesday, but we’ll go a few more snaps. It will be a little more intensified with the officials out there. It’s a good day to work the kings out. Something’s always going to show up when you’re getting ready for game day.
“Everything you do is to get you ready for game day. You’ll find things that are missing and things to work on. We’ll keep on plugging and keep moving forward. Saturday will be a good test for us.”
The addition of the officials and the format should serve to give the Demons plenty of good film to digest in the next week of camp as NSU continues to ramp up toward its Aug. 29 season opener at Tulsa.
As the Demons ready for the 11th practice of fall camp, the attitude that has permeated the first two weeks of camp is expected to continue.
“We’ll still be that competitive bunch,” linebacker Cadillac Rhone said. “The defense will come out and try to win with physicality and play the mental game with the offense. We know they’ll get some plays, because they’re a group of talented guys. It will be competitive.”
McCorkle and his staff spent the spring and the early part of camp installing their schemes and getting the Demons on the same page.
Adding officials to the equation is beneficial for all parties involved, especially 19 days ahead of the season opener.
“We’ll need to be more technical, especially the offensive line,” said offensive lineman Isaiah Ybarra. “We may get away with a hold here and there during practice. That’s not right. Out here, we’ll get those calls and get them fixed.”
In addition to mixing referees into the fold, the Demons will welcome back several former players, who will cook for the team after the scrimmage.
“We appreciate that,” McCorkle said. “That’s one thing we talked to our guys about. Every day they touch that link when they come out. They’re playing for something bigger than themselves. There have been 116 teams before them, and there will probably be 116 after them. It’s not about them. You’re playing for years and years and years of guys who played right here in Turpin Stadium – guys who expect, want and deserve a good program.”