Dan Plaster
There are benchmark days on the training camp calendar that are always just on the horizon. First up, is the mock scrimmage on Saturday at 3:00pm at Griffiths Stadium, but that is still two full days and five practices away. With the official end of day four of Saskatchewan Roughriders Training Camp 2015, normally we would usually see the doldrums begin to set in, but both practices today had some extra zip.
The morning session saw the first glimpses of what the offence will look like as they are firing on all cylinders, completing pass after pass. It carried over a bit during the afternoon practice, as full pads were back in the mix, but the defence stepped up and had a better showing.
Overall, spirits are high and the only thing anyone is thinking, talking and dreaming about is football. Once meetings are done, players head to their dorm rooms, and usually meet again in their groups to go over what was just installed. It’s a completely different feeling from Training Camp 2014 where the first week was dotted with labour strife and the retirement of Geroy Simon.
Day 4 Notes:
– Coach Corey Chamblin loves the progression of second year National defensive back Matt Webster.
– Markus White has had a great start to camp along the defensive line.
– The players are beginning to get nicked up, most notably in the secondary with Terrell Maze and Tyron Brackenridge out the past couple of days.
– Offensive line coach Dan Dorazio and defensive line coach Mike Sinclair are two of the best and colourful communicators you will see in the CFL.
– There is a lot of work implementing special teams during training camp. It may be the thing that sticks out the most while watching camp.
– The linebacking core is very young, but they sure can move.
– Korey Williams is making a hard push for one of the starting spots on the receiving core
– Even though spirits are high, the players are not quite used to the banging and the numerous practices in a short amount of time. When you see them walk to and from practice, many have that slow walk with a little bit of a side to side wobble because their feet and legs are sore. Think classic John Wayne, but with tender feet.
For today’s position spotlight, let’s keep things simple and look at the quarterbacks:
Darian Durant is coming off one of the more publicized injuries that the CFL has had over the past few years. Everyone by now knows about the elbow injury that ended his 2014 season at the Labour Day rematch in Winnipeg. The Riders were dominant with Durant at the helm and struggled without him which ended with the team being ousted in the Western Semi-Final in Edmonton.
With Ricky Ray and Henry Burris getting older, and Bo Levi Mitchell and Mike Reilly still needing another big season to really make their mark, Durant is now the poster boy for CFL quarterbacks. The stats don’t lie; Durant is one of the best. As he has matured on field, those big hits will not accumulate as fast and the mistakes have greatly diminished. The only question is how quickly will he completely absorb Jacques Chapdelaine’s intricate offence.
The injury to Durant and the struggles of his back-ups is the reason why the Riders brought in veteran quarterback Kevin Glenn. The savvy pivot has seen enough in his quarterback life to fill hundreds of books and the offence will use every little bit of his experience both on the field and off. Glenn will be the sounding board for Darian Durant when he is grinding through the long 18 game regular season schedule and will also come in and run the offence when and if the situation arises. Glenn will also help the other two quarterbacks on the roster as they progress in their young careers.
That brings up Tino Sunseri. He looked absolutely brilliant at times and at others, appeared overwhelmed last season. The Riders saw the great upside in those moments of brilliance to the former Pitt Panther so they re-signed him in the offseason. Sunseri will get a chance to see the field and has the confidence that the past mistakes will not faze him in any way.
The final player on the roster is former Wyoming Cowboy, Brett Smith. He has already had quite the journey once his college career was done with stops in Tampa Bay, Toronto and with the San Jose SaberCats of the Arena Football League. Smith signed with the Green and White on March 12th of this year and performed well enough at Spring Camp in Florida to prompt the release of Seth Doege.
Regina Ram second year quarterback Noah Picton is also in camp under the CFL/CIS mentorship program. In 2014, Picton was second in the nation in average yards per game with 289.9 at a 64.1% completion percentage. The experience he will receive at Training Camp will go a long way as Picton matures as a college quarterback.
Quotes from the day:
“I see progression; I see a lot of progression. In fairness to the other two guys [Dylan Ainsworth, Alex Pierzchalski], I spend a little bit more time with the defensive backs, those guys are doing a good job but I’ll tell you right now, [Matt] Webster is phenomenal. I’m very pleased with him. I complimented him in meetings, I even had a screw up and he corrected me in the defence. I’m pleased on where he is, he is becoming more vocal, he’s had an interception already in camp, he’s caused fumbles and he’s trying to make his way onto the roster as a full time player.”
Corey Chamblin on Matt Webster and the remaining players from the 2014 CFL Draft class
“I feel like the guys had some rest from yesterday’s practice as they only had the one full practice. Today we came out with a little more energy and I guess guys were more rested which was good. But it’s good to have a good positive practice to kick off the day.”
Riders defensive back Weldon Brown on the positive start to day four
Remember to keep up to date with Saskatchewan Roughriders Training Camp 2015 presented by Coors Light at riderville.com and with the Rider app. Also check out Riders Live tomorrow morning at 10:45 at riderville.com/riderslive.
