Things to watch at Cowboy camp

If you are going to any of the McNeese State preseason practices, make sure you bring your scorecard.

With 57 new faces, including 20 transfers from the FBS level, this Cowboy team looks much different. Now the coaches have to bring these pieces together before the opener on Aug. 24.

After a couple of days of conditioning, McNeese will put on helmets for the first time Wednesday morning as the Cowboys look to put last year’s 1-10 season in the rearview mirror.

Head coach Gary Goff, who enters his third season at McNeese, has said he is “very excited” to see what this group looks like on the field.

With that in mind, here are five things to look for during Cowboy camp.

1. The Quarterback.

Clifton McDowell enters the huddle after a long college journey that had him one win away from an FCS national championship last January while at Montana.

McDowell is expected to be the fourth starting QB for McNeese over the last four seasons, but he does come with the best resume. He is a dual-threat who can make plays with both his right arm and legs.

McDowell’s experience and leadership should leave no question who is in charge of the Cowboy offense. How fast he meshes with a new group of receivers and running backs is the big question and will go a long way in telling what type of a season this will be.

2. Tre’Vonte Citizen

The Cowboys seem loaded at running back, but the key is the health of Citizen.

After two injury-filled seasons at Miami, the former Lake Charles Prep star returns home healthy and with something to prove. If McDowell was the biggest addition to the offseason, Citizen is likely 1A.

The 6-foot-1, 220-pound power back could be the bell cow of five running backs that could help the Cowboys run back into postseason contention.

While in high school, Citizen was rated the No. 2 running back in his class by Rivals.com. He was No. 59 nationally overall and the No. 7 player in Louisiana.   He finished with 743 yards and 11 touchdowns in his senior season at LCCP. The year before he helped the Blazers to a 10-1 season, scoring eight TDs and running for 615 yards.

3. Linebackers

Micah Davey returns for his junior season after setting records and being named All-American last year. This season he won’t have to do so much if things go right.

Two transfers, Marques White from Dartmouth and Tristan Driggers out of Louisiana-Monroe should give Davey needed help in stopping opponents.

The duo also will give the Cowboys a chance to do more things on defense as they hope to play downhill this season and attack through the linebackers.

4. Curtis DeVille

Finding a playmaker on the outside has been an issue for the past few seasons for McNeese. DeVille could change that.

The former Iowa High star and Purdue transfer, Deville returns to the area like Citizen with something to prove. He showed his stuff with some remarkable catches during spring workouts.

DeVille leads an upgraded group of receivers who could give McDowell some open targets this season.

5. Depth

With all the additions this offseason, McNeese is a much deeper football team with far more weapons. That is a big difference from the past two years when the Cowboys wore down in games and through the season as injuries piled up.

They look much more prepared for both thanks to being what Goff called “two deep everywhere and three deep at some positions.”

This could be the biggest difference this season.

We start to find out how this team looks as it comes together.