Josh Morgan had one of three McNeese interceptions on the day during Saturday’s scrimmage.

LAKE CHARLES — Halfway through their spring workouts and one thing is clear about this edition of McNeese State Cowboys: there will not be a lot of standing around.

Nor will the play clock come into action much if first-year head coach Sterlin Gilbert has his way. And he is likely to have his way.

The Cowboys completed the opening half with their first scrimmage Saturday. Results came from both sides of the ball, which is good to see from a team that struggled mightily on offense.

Not so this spring as both offense and defense continue learning a new pace and a new culture, one that will be fast and family oriented.

“The culture started in the offseason,” said Gilbert after his team ran 107 plays Saturday. “It never stops. It is something that is always there and you just keep building on it.”

For the returning Cowboys, there is also a chip on their shoulders from a season that started so promising last fall and ended with four losses in five games and no playoffs.

“I feel like we are trying to prove ourselves from last year the way it ended,” said senior defensive end Chris Livings, who had a pair of sacks in the scrimmage. “We are trying to get our respect back from the way we finished.”

Gilbert is hoping that his new pace of play, one with the utilizes up-tempo and, can help McNeese get that fresh start it is looking for. 

“We saw a lot of good things, things we can work on from both sides of the ball,” Gilbert said. “Tempo was real good, but there is also room for growth.

“I loved our physicality. The defense created some turnovers with being physical. There are a lot of things that we can coach off of today.”

Growth is the biggest catch phrase perhaps for this team. Growth in coming together and growth within a system.

First and foremost, however, is that pace. 

“We are adjusting to it,” said Livings. “We need to get started faster. We all need to pick up the pace.”

With the increased pace is a need to improve the team’s depth. McNeese suffered greatly last year from a lack of depth, as injuries helped fuel the late-season troubles. Gilbert knows he needs depth to run his system. 

“You need people who can play,” Gilbert said. “We are going that by the tempo of our practices.”

That’s why he was pleased with Saturday’s efforts.

“You got 107 plays in and a lot of guys got reps in,” Gilbert said. “Guys standing around on the sidelines getting in mental reps isn’t what you need. 

“Guys getting reps on the field, that’s how you get depth. That’s what we want.”

And what is the coach looking for over the second half of the spring?

“Just get better,” Gilbert said. “Guys get a lot of reps and get better. From a scheme point we have to learn to get better. 

“We saw some positives to get excited about that but by no means satisfied.”