Life on an island isn’t necessarily tranquil.
Just ask Rodney Clemons — or, for that matter, any of his fellow defensive backs at the Coors Light Riders Training Camp.
Cover men are at a pronounced disadvantage while lining up against receivers in one-on-one drills.
The quarterback is unbothered by those annoying pass rushers. The receiver benefits from the waggle — a running start at the line of scrimmage. And there isn’t any other defensive cohort to provide assistance.
Plus, the receiver knows precisely where he is going, whereas the defensive back is left with mere milliseconds to read the situation and react accordingly.
With all that supposedly stacked against him, Rodney Clemons simply sparkled during Thursday morning’s rookie-camp workout at Griffiths Stadium.
A CFL newcomer from Southern Methodist University, Clemons — take note of No. 39 on the roster — intercepted one pass and also stripped the football from a receiver in the end zone.
“A shout-out to my coach,” Clemons said, referencing defensive backs coach Marcus Klund.
“This is my second day of playing Canadian football, so I’m used to American rules. The waggle and motions and things are kind of different, so I appreciate my coaches getting me ready to understand the game more and to kind of slow down the game.
“The first day, I was a little more aggressive and things like that. Today, I just took my coaching and played more patiently and worked on my technique.
“I had a good day. I’m just trying to stack days (on top of each other) and get better.”
Clemons was able to smile about it afterward, and for good reason, but one would presume that the challenge presented by one-on-one showdowns is rather stress-inducing at the outset.
However, he looks at it differently, with more of a glass-half-full approach.
“One-on-ones are built for us to get better,” Clemons said. “No pass rush, no help inside, or anything like that. No safety over the top.
“It really makes us focus on our technique and it can only make us better. Receivers give us a great look, so it’s good-on-good, one-on-one, you versus your man.
“If you win a route, that’s big, because in a game you’ll have help inside and a pass rush and all that. Out here, they have four seconds or five seconds to throw the ball and (the quarterback) can just sit back there.
“The one-on-ones are built for the offence to win, so when defence wins in one-on-ones, that’s great.”
Just being at the Saskatchewan Roughriders’ camp feels like a resounding win for Clemons, who has been out of football for nearly two years.
After registering four interceptions at SMU and earning second-team All-ACC honours as a senior, Clemons signed with the Kansas City Chiefs as an undrafted free agent in 2020. He was an NFL practice-squad player with Kansas City (for the 2020 season) and the Tennessee Titans (part of 2021).
“Really, it almost feels like four years without football, because I came out (of SMU and into the NFL) during COVID, so I haven’t played football since college,” noted Clemons, 26.
“I’m just blessed and happy to be out here playing the game that I love again. I’m just going out and trying to be the best for the Roughriders.”
THURSDAY TIDBITS
So, who looked good on Day 2?
“I felt like the offensive line played a little better today,” head coach Craig Dickenson said on Thursday. “I thought the DBs looked pretty good in one-on-ones.”
Deontai Williams, for example, stepped in front of a receiver — who was running an out pattern in a 12-on-12 drill — and registered a pick that would have produced six points in game conditions.
Also in 12-versus-12, Devin Jones jumped a route and knocked down a short pass.
Other individual performances of note:
- Pressure exerted by defensive lineman Bryan Cox Jr. — the 28-year-old son of three-time NFL Pro Bowl linebacker Bryan Cox — forced the quarterback out of the pocket during 12-on-12.
- In a one-on-one drill, linebacker La’Akea Kaho’ohanohano-Davis had Thursday’s other interception.
- Rookie receiver Kendall Watson was impressive for the second day in succession. He made a tumbling end-zone grab in a one-on-one situation and a contested catch for a long gain in 12-on-12.
- Also with a tumbling end-zone catch: Jake Herslow.
- Running back Javian Hawkins demonstrated the type of acceleration that enabled him to rush for a school-record 1,525 yards for Louisville during the 2019 NCAA season.
- Linebacker Nick Thomas, a seventh-round pick in the 2023 CFL Draft, thwarted a what would have been a touchdown catch by stripping the ball from the intended receiver deep in the end zone.
- Keith Corbin III and Kalija Lipscomb made nice catches on corner routes in one-on-one drills.
LINING UP THE LINEMEN
The Roughriders announced the signing of American offensive tackle Phil Saleh on Thursday.
Saleh is a 6-foot-4, 302-pounder from Fordham University.
“We’re signing as many good offensive linemen as we can,” Dickenson said. “We’re just letting them play and hopefully we’ll find two or three real good ones.”
The preliminary plan is to start an American at both offensive tackle positions, although Philip Blake could always influence the equation and, by extension, the ratio.
The Toronto-born Blake started at left tackle for the Grey Cup-winning Toronto Argonauts in 2022.
The other candidates to start at tackle are all Americans: Saleh, Jerald Hawkins, Colton Lamson, Eric Lofton, Jeremiah Poutasi, Kooper Richardson and Jordan Tucker.
SHORT SNORTS
Receiver Jake Parker is sidelined with a broken wrist. “It’s unfortunate, because had a good Day 1,” Dickenson said. “He was doing a good job until that injury. It’s unfortunate. We hope he heals up quickly and we’ll revisit him at a later date.” … The players are to practise in pads on Friday — the final day of rookie camp. Main training camp begins on Sunday … A Hall of Famer was in the crowd on Thursday. Broadcaster Dale Isaac, who now resides in Saskatoon, checked out Day 2 of rookie camp. He did radio play-by-play of Roughriders games from 1973 to 1976 and was later part of CTV’s national telecast team. The Isaac brothers, Dale and Mal, were inducted into the media wing of the Canadian Football Hall of Fame in 2003.
