NATCHITOCHES – The term he used may sound oxymoronic, but second-year Northwestern State football coach Blaine McCorkle is happy to see what his team looked like during Tuesday night's opening practice of fall camp.
 
"I think this football team, right now, is what we call 'joyfully angry,'" McCorkle said after a two-hour workout on the Turpin Stadium turf. "That's a good thing. We can be both at the same time. You can have a good attitude and work hard, but there is a healthy anger about this team right now that I'm kind of enjoying."
 
Northwestern started fall camp with a night practice, which mirrors the start of the season when the Demons host Alcorn State on Aug. 28.
 
The late start did make for a long day, but it did not quell the Demons' joyful side when it came to opening camp.
 
"We had our first meeting at 10 a.m., which makes you feel like you've been here three weeks before your first practice," senior tight end Ryan Tyler said. "It was a long day today, but everyone's got juice on Day One."
 
In many ways, it was a typical Day One practice.
 
There were standout moments on both sides of the ball in team periods while the basics were honed throughout. There also were mistakes, but even in those times, McCorkle saw something positive.
 
"Overall, I'm pleased with it," he said. "There was your typical day-one sloppiness – guys making sure they went to the right spot when the whistle blows. Freshmen getting lost. Those things happen.
 
"A couple of guys jumped offsides when we changed the snap count, but the beauty of that is we're far enough along to where we can change the snap count. We went the whole year last year on the same snap count. We weren't good enough or mature enough to change the snap count, and that was really frustrating. Now, we're beyond that and we can advance our game with something as simple as changing the snap count. Those are part of the learning curve."
 
McCorkle said he hopes his team does not have a "worse practice than (Tuesday)" as it moves toward the Aug. 28 season opener.
 
Even while working off some rust, the Demons did so as a bigger, stronger, faster unit with McCorkle crediting Director of Strength and Conditioning Jason Smelser and his staff for his team's more physical look.
 
While those differences were visible to the casual observer, McCorkle was equally as pleased with what may have gone unnoticed.
 
"The attitude of this team is so different," he said. "If anyone came out here 12 months ago and came back today, they'd see a completely different chemistry, culture, mind-set, flow and level of energy. It's positive, and it's upbeat."