Sluggish Monday practice prompts two-a-day workout on Tuesday

NATCHITOCHES - Coming off its first day off since the start of preseason camp 11 days ago, Northwestern State head coach Scott Stoker was hoping for some rested legs and fresh minds. Instead, he got just the opposite from his team in Monday morning`s session. "Just awful," said Stoker of the practice. "This is by far the worst we`ve looked." The poor session prompted Stoker to call for a two-a-day workout on Tuesday. "We`ve got the toughest schedule in the nation. Coming out and just going through the motions isn`t going to cut it," said Stoker. "We`re going to get two (practices) in tomorrow because we just didn`t get much accomplished today. We took 10 steps backwards." There were some bright spots Monday when the team went through their four and 2-minute offenses to close out practice. Running back Richuel Massey, a transfer from SMU, gained 37 yards on five carries to help the offense run out the clock while running with the first-team. "He`s very athletic but still young," said Stoker. "He`s still learning the system but has shown signs of what he`s capable of doing." The defense held the upper hand in most of the drill. On the first play from scrimmage, Jordan Patton`s hard hit on Massey forced a fumble that gave the defense the ball. In the next series of plays, the defense held the offense to a four-and-out sequence that concluded with a Trey Sands interception. "The defensive line is really doing a good job," said Stoker. "We`re just going through some growing pains as a team. But we`ve got to start executing both physically and emotionally at practice. We`re only 19 days away from our opener." The Demons will conduct their second major scrimmage of the preseason Thursday evening at 6 in Turpin Stadium.