THIBODAUX, La.  – The Nicholls State University football team completed its bye week on Thursday as it begins its preparation for seven straight weeks of Southland Conference play, starting on Oct. 6 at Central Arkansas.

With the first three games of season in the books, head coach Charlie Stubbs used the four-day week to shore up on fundamentals, focusing in areas that he felt needed some fine-tuning.

“It's really not a complicated game, so we wanted to key in on some of the basics,” Coach Stubbs said. “We worked on tackling since we've had some concerns after the first few games. Also, we focused on our pass defense by working on drills for the pass rush. On offense, our main goal was to emphasis finishing blocks.”

The team conducted its normal Monday routine, which consists of reviewing the past game and hitting the weights, before strapping on full pads for Tuesday and Wednesday. On Thursday, the team worked in shells and focused on its special forces.

One noticeable changeup in the schedule was the addition of post-practice competitions.  On Tuesday, each position group picked three players to field sky-high punts from the jugs machine. Line coaches Tyler Donaldson and Mario Jeberaeel even squared off, with both making clean grabs. Members of the equipment and video staffs were also able to show off their returning skills.

For Wednesday, the quarterback net was brought out to test throwing accuracy, with the offensive linemen coming away with the title. Thursday's competition saw the jugs machine rolled out again as the team played “chase the rabbit”. The returner fielded the ball and had to go 50 yards without being touched by all three defenders. One highlight was when offensive lineman Tyler Knowles raced to corner and performed a Reggie Bush-like stretch over the designated cone.

“We wanted to do something enjoyable,” Stubbs said. “While these drills still teach some concepts, it puts the guys out in front of everyone and they have to perform.  But we had fun with it. Football is a tough game, so I think every once in a while, there's some places for that.

With no breaks for the rest of the conference schedule, the players were given Friday off. Stubbs thought the free day would allow them to visit family or go watch their former high school team play. The coaches, on the other hand, traveled all over the state on Thursday and Friday, using the off week for recruiting.

“Although it's a bye week, it definitely isn't a rest week for the coaches,” Stubbs said. “Overall, I feel really good about our week. We used it wisely, we were able to get some guys healthy and we didn't have any setbacks.”

Nicholls begins its Southland Conference slate against the two teams that represented the SLC in the playoffs last season. The Colonels open up at Central Arkansas on Oct. 6 before hosting Sam Houston for Homecoming on Oct. 13.