With solid showings from both new and old alike, the Cowboys unveiled their new roster Saturday morning during their first scrimmage.

Tre’Vonte Citizen and Clifton McDowell led the way for the newcomers while D’Angelo Durham and Kamden Sixkiller topped the old guard for McNeese.

In all, 14 plays went for 10 yards or more during the two-hour workout, a good sign for a team that struggled to make big plays last season.

Citizen, a Lake Charles native and transfer from Miaimi, ran for 131 yards on seven carries, scoring two touchdowns in his first showing in front of the home folks.

“I felt great today,” said Citizen. “It was good to be back home in The Hole.”

Citizen had runs of 50 and 44 yards. The first led to a 9-yard TD run while the 44-yarder saw him use a stiff arm, spin mone, and then his speed for his second score.

Durham, in his third season at McNeese, finished with 97 yards on five carries, scoring four times. 

“Good to see T.C. (Citizen) get out there and compete,” said McNeese head coach Gary Goff. “And D-Low (Durham) had a big day.”

At quarterback, the new came from McDowell, a transfer from Montana. He finished 8 of 12 for 121 yards while returning Kamden Sixkiller was 12 of 20 for 126.

“We had some drops and some missed reads,” said Goff. “Overall, we had some good and some bad, which is to be expected. We did some good things and we have some things we have to clean up.”

The Cowboys were tagged for six holding penalties, which may have been partially accounted for by the way the officials called the scrimmage.

“I asked the officials to be hard and to call everything,” said Goff. “Some of those are on me, I wanted them on tape. We have to learn from those.

Another new guy had a big day. Curtis Deville, a transfer from Purdue who attended Iowa High, had four catches for 54 yards and a touchdown.

“That guy is a playmaker,” said Goff. “He makes tough catches look easy.”

Deville was by far the best receiver for McNeese during spring workouts. 

The coach’s son, Tyler Goff, had a 9-yard TD grab himself. 

As for the defense, Marques White, Micah Davey, and Stephen Johnson each had a sack. Jaylen Jackson had the only interception while Johnquai Lewis forced a fumble recovered by Joshua Pontigo.

Tyler Larco booted a 50-yard field goal early in the scrimmage. The kick bounced off the crossbar and over for the day’s first score.

“Overall it was a pretty good day,” said Goff. “We have a lot to look over moving forward.”

McNeese will open the season in three weeks against Tarleton State on Aug. 24.

Saturday’s Stats

Passing: Clifton McDowell 8-12, 121; Kamden Sixkiller 12-20, 126, TD; Alex Flores 2-6, 27, TD, INT; Jackson LaTour 0-2; Devin Lippold 0-1.

Totals 22-41, 274, 2 TD, INT

Rushing: Tre’Vonte Citizen 7-131, 2 TD; D’Angelo Durham 5-97, 4 TD; Joshon Barbie 4-13; Clifton McDowell 4-9; Bryce Strong 5-16; Coleby Hamm 6-25; Trey Echols 1-13; Jaylen Thompson 1-0; Alex Flores 1-0; Kameron Senegal 1-14; Kamden Sixkiller 1-4.

Totals 36-322, 6 TD.

Receiving: Jer’Michael Carter 2-40; Matthew McCallister 2-21; Reed Boyd 2-13; Jonathan Harris 2-12; Cory O’Bryant 1-16; Curtis Deville 4-54, TD; Trey Echols 1-3; Logan Mauldin 1-19; Tyrone Hayes 1-4; Jihad Marks 1-15; Tyler Goff 1-9, TD.