NATCHITOCHES – The first day in full pads brought the physicality Northwestern State head coach Blaine McCorkle expected, and the Demons' offense answered the challenge Monday morning.
 
The offense found success throughout the workout, winning the day according to McCorkle while consistently moving the line of scrimmage in the running game and capitalizing on scoring opportunities during goal-line work.
 
"I love this day of practice every year," McCorkle said. "We get our goal line and short yardage scrimmage in and it was good. It was physical. I would like to have seen a little more intensity at times, but the guys were feeling the drills out a little. For the most part the guys gave us what we wanted in terms of physicality. We'll repeat this exact same practice again next week and it should look a lot better."
 
Before the pads ever started popping, one position group made sure the energy level was already where it needed to be.
 
The tight ends arrived at the pre-practice meeting fully dressed in their pads, an energy-setting move for the team's first fully padded practice camp.
 
"We planned the whole thing in team meeting yesterday and just kind of wanted to set the tone," Joseph Moreland said. "First day of full pads everyone has to be 100 percent energy and we have to keep on stacking days and do the same thing every day. Maybe not full dress tomorrow, but just keep on going."
 
The enthusiasm carried onto the field.
 
The offense scored on each of its goal-line opportunities, highlighted by touchdown receptions from Moreland and receiver Jimmie Duncan. The final snaps of the day closed practice with an impressive 70-yard touchdown drive during the rookie period, fueled by explosive plays from freshman quarterback Luke Delafield and freshman running back Marcus Gadlin III.
 
"Offense kind of won the day today," McCorkle said. "I like the way we're moving the ball forward. We're running the ball hard. Our backs are getting downhill. Our offensive line is fitting some guys up pretty good and moving some bodies. Those things are encouraging to see."
 
Moreland said the offense's continued improvement as a whole has only increased the confidence inside the locker room.
 
"It gives us tons of confidence," he said. "I've noticed how we've continued to get better and better and it's really enlightening to see that. Things are changing over here and we are liking it."
 
While the offense may have taken the first day of week two, the competitive balance through the first week has been solid between the offense and defense.
 
"We've got a lot of good give and take with our team right now," McCorkle said. "Before today nobody has really dominated either side of these practices. The offense won the day by numbers but the defense still made plenty of plays. They'll show up and practice tomorrow I'm sure."
 
Cornerback Antonio Hall echoed that sentiment after getting his first taste of live contact this fall.
 
"It was an amazing day and a very competitive day on both sides of the ball," Hall said. "It was a lot of fun being able to run around and hit and let out some aggression. For the first day of pads I think we all had a lot of fun."
 
Hall admitted the tight ends' pre-practice entrance helped spark the entire team before practice even began.
 
"The tight ends came into the meeting room before practice fully dressed and hyped up," Hall said with a laugh. "So that really got me excited and ready to go when I saw them come in. They were ready to go so that got everybody ready. The offense had a good day against us, but we just have to keep stepping things up and raising the intensity, especially for us on defense."