LORMAN &8212; Entering their second off week of the season thus far, the Alcorn State Braves aren&8217;t exactly where head coach Johnny Thomas had hoped, but he isn&8217;t all too disappointed, either.

&8220;I thought we&8217;d be a little bit farther ahead (at this point),&8221; Thomas said. &8220;At the beginning of the season, we didn&8217;t play very well. But we still had the opportunity to wiin games. That gave us hope. The people that were inexperienced on the offensive line have matured, and we&8217;ve gotten some people with injuries back. Coupled with those things, we&8217;re back to where we&8217;re supposed to be and that&8217;s a good thing.&8221;

The Braves enter the off week on a four-game winning streak, and Thomas felt the week off was having a positive effect on the team.

&8220;This week has been good to us. It allows us the opportunity to get some people healthy. We&8217;ve had some opportunities to let some of our players catch up academically that were behind a little bit. It&8217;s good to catch up on some work that needed to be done.&8221;

One key question of this off week is if it will give starting quarterback Tony Hobson Jr. the time to rest up his pulled hamstring and get back on the field next week at Mississippi Valley State after missing last week&8217;s win over Southern.

&8220;Hobson is progressing pretty good,&8221; Thomas said. &8220;He&8217;s walking much better from day to day. We&8217;re hoping he continues to get better as he rehabs. We don&8217;t know if he&8217;s going to be ready to start yet or not. You just never know with those hamstrings.&8221;

With four games standing between Alcorn and a trip to the SWAC Championship in Birmingham on Dec. 9, Thomas said the Braves needed to continue to improve.

&8220;They&8217;re going to have to compete each week,&8221; he said. &8220;Execution and consistency are what we&8217;re working for now. We&8217;ve got people healthy and we&8217;ve got people with experience. If we stay healthy we&8217;ll be OK.&8221;