Big-play McCall turns short passes into long gains

Published 7:19 am Saturday, August 19, 2023

Nate Glantz ran for a pair of touchdowns and threw for another as he appeared to take a step forward in the battle for starting quarterback Friday night.

Glantz also had a TD pass called back as he continues to battle Tre’ Simmons for the McNeese State quarterback job.

But just when you thought one guy had the upper hand, Simmons responded.

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After a slow start, Simmons finished with a pair of TD tosses as the Cowboys played their second and final scrimmage of camp at Cowboy Stadium.

“I’m not ready to make that decision yet,” said McNeese head coach Gary Goff. “The good thing is I don’t have to. I got two weeks before we play.

“What I do know is we have two really good football players back there who can make plays. That is a good thing.”

Ironically third-stringer Ryan Roberts, who guided McNeese in a relief role to three of its four wins last fall, had the longest scoring pass of the night.

a short pass and the redshirt sophomore did the rest, going 80 yards and breaking two tackles along the way.

The Cowboys scored seven touchdowns during 50-minute timed scrimmage that also saw the defense make some plays.

“Overall, I’m happy with where we are at,” Goff said. “I would just like to see us clean up a few things in certain situations.”

For McCall, it was another staring night.

The redshirt sophomore finished with three touchdown catches, getting one from Glantz (14 yards) and Simmons (15). He made four touchdown catches in the two scrimmages.

The 6-foot-4 receiver is becoming the big-play guy Goff was looking for when he came to town last year.

“He is really been good,” Goff said of McCall. “He is playing with a lot of confidence and you can see that when he’s out there.”

McCall has been able to make short catches in traffic and turn them into points.

“I think we have a lot of guys who can make plays,” McCall said. “I think the competition in the wide receiver room has been good for all of us. We are all working really hard.”

Injuries forced McCall into action last season as a freshman and he enjoyed some good moments and some bad.

“That experience really helped me,” McCall said.

Simmons found Cincinnati transfer Marcus Peterson with a 2-yard scoring pass on a fourth-down play to finish his best drive of the night. Peterson is a highly touted transfer.

“Marcus is coming along and finding his way out there,” Goff said. “He is getting better every practice.”

Glantz and Simmons are locked in a race for the starting job two weeks before the season opener against Tarleton State. Glantz threw an interception that bounced off a receiver’s hands and into the waiting fingers of Boogsie Silvera early in the fourth quarter.

The Cowboys will take today and Sunday off before returning to practice on Monday.

“We will start to change things up and do some things getting ready for Tarleton beginning Monday,” Goff said.