It isn’t an exaggeration to suggest that Zack Evans is eager to butt heads with the Calgary Stampeders on Saturday.
That specific type of contact is what gets the adrenaline flowing for the Saskatchewan Roughriders’ defensive tackle — just as it has throughout his football career.
“I’m cool, calm and collected before the game,” Evans said in advance of the CFL clash at Mosaic Stadium (7 p.m., CKRM, TSN). “During warmups, I’m just chill. I’m relaxed. When I get that first head butt, I’m in the game. I’ve got the game face on and I’m ready to go.”
For Evans, the tradition dates back to his days in Regina Minor Football.
“I was always on kickoff when I was a kid, so that first kickoff, until I hit somebody and crush them, I’m not playing yet,” the 28-year-old Reginan said. “I’ve got to get that first head butt in.”
Evans’ football care
er included stops with the O’Neill Titans of the Regina Intercollegiate Football League and the Prairie Football Conference’s Regina Thunder before he joined the Roughriders in 2012.
After two seasons with Saskatchewan, Evans was selected by the Ottawa Redblacks in an expansion draft. He played four seasons with them before signing as a free agent with the Roughriders in February.
At every stop, the first-play head butt has been a requirement.
“I’ve seen guys head-butt lockers and stuff like that,” Evans said with a chuckle. “I’m not into that. I don’t want a concussion. I need that first real hit.”
Former Jacksonville Jaguars defensive tackle John Henderson had a similar ritual, although he endured it before games. The 6-foot-7, 335-pounder always asked a trainer to give him a slap — an extremely hard slap — in the face before Henderson took the field.
Evans doesn’t want anyone wearing green and white to be involved in his ritual.
“I want to hit somebody I don’t like,” he said. “I don’t want to hit a teammate because I might hurt him. You never know, right?”
That said, Evans might have felt inclined to belt some of his teammates after the Roughriders’ 31-20 victory over the Hamilton Tiger-Cats on July 19.
In the fourth quarter of that contest, Evans recovered a Jeremiah Masoli fumble … and fell down while attempting to return it. Not surprisingly, razzing ensued.
“Everyone said I looked unathletic, but I re-watched the film,” said Evans, who managed to get up and cover 17 yards before being tackled. “It wasn’t that bad. I fell, I rolled, I got back up and kept running.”
•••
Evans and his cohorts on the Roughriders’ defensive line will try to contain Calgary quarterback Bo Levi Mitchell on Saturday.
Some observers may have thought the Roughriders’ task would be made easier by the knee injury that Mitchell suffered July 12 against Ottawa, but Saskatchewan head coach-GM Chris Jones doesn’t think that will be a factor.
“If you watched last week, it didn’t affect him a whole lot; he lit them up pretty good,” said Jones, referring to Mitchell’s showing — 25-for-34 passing for 292 yards with two touchdowns — in Calgary’s 25-8 victory over the Montreal Alouettes on July 21.
“Dave (Dickenson, the Stamps’ head coach/offensive co-ordinator) will do a good job of trying to protect him and giving him (extra) protection and that type of thing. Their offensive line and their offensive line coaches do a really good job of keeping him upright.”
The Stamps went into the week ranked second in the CFL with six sacks allowed.
•••
Tailback Trent Richardson, whom the Roughriders put on their suspended list before training camp, apparently has designs on playing again — but not in Saskatchewan.
Richardson told AL.com on Wednesday that he planned to sign with the Birmingham entry in the proposed Alliance of American Football.
Jones noted Friday that Richardson is still under contract to the Roughriders, with whom he played four games last season.
Asked if Richardson can sign with the Birmingham franchise, Jones replied: “I don’t know. You’ll have to ask the contract lawyers down in the States.”
•••
The Roughriders had a wide-eyed visitor at practice Friday.
Steve Dennis, who played 86 games as a defensive back with Saskatchewan from 1977 through ’83, arrived in Regina on Thursday night and took in Friday’s practice at Mosaic Stadium.
“The fans are terrific. I’m waiting to see what it’s like to be here (Saturday) with this stadium full and our fans going crazy.”
“This is a state-of-the-art facility,” Dennis said as he gazed around the edifice. “I don’t know anything better in the States and I’ve been in most of the major arenas there.
“I looked into the coaches’ offices and the players’ meeting rooms and all of those things. With the technology and everything, it’s just awesome.”
After retiring as a player, Dennis coached at the high school (in Shreveport, La.), college (at Grambling State University) and CFL (with the Shreveport Pirates) levels. The man known as Stickman during his playing days was interested to watch Friday’s practice.
“I’m seeing some of the things that we did, but they’ve added some technique — some in-and-outs, triangle reading and stuff like that in the secondary,” said Dennis, who recorded 21 interceptions in his Roughriders career. “It’s more contemporary than it was with us. We were either man-to-man or we were in zone.”
Dennis and his travelling companion drove from Shreveport to St. Louis to visit family. Dennis then won an argument with his companion; she wanted to go to Toronto and he wanted to head to Regina.
“The last time I was here was for my induction into the Plaza of Honour in 2007,” said Dennis, who turned 67 on Wednesday. “It’s something to come back to a place that I see as home and to see what’s going on here.
“The fans are terrific. I’m waiting to see what it’s like to be here (Saturday) with this stadium full and our fans going crazy.”
