McNeese State will put a cap on its camp Saturday when they hold their annual spring game inside Cowboy Stadium.

Hoping to run between 80 and 90 plays, head coach Matt Viator said it depends on how things go, especially with injuries. 

The scrimmage portion of the day is expected to start around 10 a.m. with the public welcome. 

This will be the third scrimmage of the spring, as the Cowboys had 14 practices before Saturday. 

“We’re down on (offensive line), it looks like we’re going to have 11 for the scrimmage,” said Viator. “We’re running short of some numbers, so we will probably want to keep it in that area.”

McNeese has made progress this spring, especially regarding being physical. Coaches and players have talked about how much more physical football is being worked on this year in Viator’s first spring back as the head coach.

“Every day has been a battle,” said defensive end Masey Lewis. “We have been battling with the offensive line. They are running and are much more physical this season.”

That has been a key emphasis since Viator took over. In the past few seasons, the Cowboys have looked to be more of a finessed team, especially on offense.

“Anybody who knows Coach V. knows he wants to run the ball first and be physical,” said offensive coordinator Tyler Bolfing. “That’s what has always been his way.”

The most important thing was how the Cowboys went about their business. This camp has had much more energy and instruction than in the previous several seasons. 

“Everybody has come in ready to work every day,” said Lewis. 

The defense looked good, especially on the line where Lewis and Phillip Bradford had the strongest of camps. That might be expected, considering it was the most experienced group returning.

“We got a lot of people back and are really coming together,” Lewis said. “We feel like we can be a leading group this season.”

Viator says the Cowboys still have a lot of work to do, but he has also seen a lot of progress over the past five weeks. Plays have been made, but the big thing is getting the offense more consistent.

The difference is that the defense is the same as a year ago, but the offense is new under Viator and Bolfing. 

“I want to see us try to improve execution, especially on offense,” said Viator. “Our execution has been hit and miss. Sometimes we are making progress, and other times we are not.

“I like the defense improving tackling last week. Hopefully, we can make some more plays there.”

No position battles will likely be decided by Saturday night. Those spots, especially the quarterback one, will go well into the summer and fall. 

Viator has said that Jake Strong and Alex Flores have had good and bad days as they fight for the starting position. 

One solid group is the running backs. With Bryce Strong, Tre’vonte Citizen, and Coleby Ham, the Cowboys have a trio of runners with different styles that could be problematic.

“I really like the guys in that room,” said Bolfing. “We can do a lot of things with that group.”

McNeese hopes to show some of that off before they break until the summer.