Cowboys to kickoff spring camp

Published 8:06 am Friday, February 27, 2026

Matt Viator officially begins his second season back at the helm of the Cowboys on Sunday when his team opens spring workouts.

Coming off a 5-7 season, in which McNeese won four of its last six games, the Cowboys are looking to build off that momentum.

“We are all excited to get back going as a full group,” said quarterback Jake Strong. “We have been working hard already, but getting back with all the guys is something we look forward to.”

The Cowboys have added 28 newcomers from the transfer portal and junior college. The recruiting class as a whole was ranked No. 1 in the Southland Conference and No. 13 nationally among FCS teams by 247Sports.

McNeese will begin the process of putting all those new pieces together as one when they hold the first of 15 workouts, which will include three scrimmages throughout March, ending at spring break. 

It is an earlier-than-usual spring camp, but Viator has said he enjoys that.

“I think it works better with our schedule,” Viator said. “We get a long break with spring and Easter, so it would be tough to do a split camp. We will get four weeks after for workouts before summer.”

Strong returns after starting 11 of 12 games from last season, throwing for 2,008 yards with 11 touchdowns. He also ran for seven scores in his first season at McNeese after transferring from Texas Tech.

Strong threw 13 interceptions and had several of his passes dropped. He now has a new group of receivers as McNeese added four to several key returnees.

Receiver and skilled offensive positions, especially running back, were the two positions the Cowboys wanted to bolster the most on offense. With three new running backs as well, Strong and the other Cowboy quarterbacks have more weapons. 

On defense, McNeese lost ends Phillip Bradford and Masey Lewis, so the Cowboys added eight linemen on that side of the football. This group will be instrumental to the defense’s success.

“We’ve got to get out there and see what we haven’t, especially with the new guys,” said Viator. “We also get to see who is ready to take the next step from last season. We have a lot of things to figure out.”

Viator also said the spring camp is when he can show them how they want to practice.

“We want to re-establish what we do and what we expect,” Viator said. 

McNeese will practice at 3:30 p.m. during the weekend workouts.