Welcome to Saskatchewan Roughriders country.
Trevor Harris has embraced the vibe from the outset.
In the embryonic stages of the first workout of Coors Light Riders Training Camp, the veteran quarterback animatedly strummed an air guitar while clearly enjoying a tune by country crooner Morgan Wallen. Moments later, though, the music emanating from Griffiths Stadium’s public-address system was drowned out by Harris and his emphatic “LET’S GO!!!”
So began the serious business of main training camp, at which jobs are won or lost and a foundation is established for a long, gruelling season.
“It’s more or less about understanding when to turn it on and turn it off,” Harris, who signed with the Roughriders as a free agent on Feb. 14, said after his introductory training-camp workout in green and white.
“I have fun out here but, at the same time, when it’s time to work, it’s time to work.
“That’s something that I think this team is going to embody this year. We’re going to have a heck of a lot of fun. We’re going to be entertaining the fans and we’re going to be great to the fans, but when we’re in between those white lines, it’s ‘go’ time.
“Our mindset is ‘they’ve got to see us for four quarters,’ so we’re going to be coming out swinging all year.”
If they come out singing all year, all the better.
“Everybody understands the timing of when it’s time to have fun, but we also know when it’s time to lock in,” Harris continued.
“When the coaches say, ‘Hey, we’re going over the script,’ there’s no more time for air guitar. It’s time to get to work.”
For some of the attendees, the work began Wednesday when rookie camp commenced. That three-day event was a prelude to the main camp, which is being held on the University of Saskatchewan campus.
The appearance of established CFLers — many of whom are new to the Roughriders but extremely familiar with professional three-down football — reinforced the reality that the preliminaries are over, at least in a camp context.
Given the influx of veterans leading up to Sunday, not everyone had an opportunity to renew acquaintances until the opening main-camp workout. So, just in advance of the first whistle, there was an assortment of handshakes and hugs.
Then everyone wrapped their arms around the task at hand — for 2½ hours under a cloudless sky.
That is a pronounced contrast to last year, when the weather was miserable as camp dawned.
Sunday’s early drills were followed by a group stretch and then, from a voice among the cluster of humanity; a resonant: “Let’s work, baby! Let’s go!”
Subsequently, there was nary a wasted moment as the players hustled from station to station, drill to drill — in adherence to the schedule laid out by Head Coach Craig Dickenson.
If the agenda calls for a specific routine to begin at 10:40 a.m., for example, you can bet (but please do so responsibly!) on it not commencing at, say, 11:40:05.
This is a longer-than-usual training camp, extending until early June, but time is nonetheless of the essence.
So many players. So much information to absorb. So many weighty decisions to be made. And there are only so many hours in a day.
But there’s nothing quite like the first day.
“The energy was awesome,” Harris said. “The defence was flying around and the offence was flying around.
“It’s always fun to get those first few reps with running a new offence with a new scheme and getting the timing with the guys down and really focusing on the details.
“You can see and feel the potential out there — the almost big plays that were happening. Those are the things that really get ironed out and happen as camp goes on.
“We’ve got a tremendous group. I’m excited.”
JAKE-TO-JAKE, EIGHT-ON-EIGHT
Quarterback Jake Dolegala and receiver Jake Wieneke collaborated on the nicest play of Day 1 — a picturesque strike on a seam route during an eight-on-eight drill.
Dolegala found Wieneke open just to the right of the goal posts and threaded the needle for six points.
“Anytime you get a catch and there’s just a great throw like that, it’s fun,” Wieneke said with a smile.
“That’s the fun thing about practising. There’s always some plays that you want back. There’s a couple that I want back, but I’m glad we got that one.”
Overall, Wieneke took note of a sizzling showing by Dolegala who, as the circumstances dictated, demonstrated eye-popping arm strength and a feathery touch.
“I noticed that in the little mini-camp we had last week when we were throwing,” Wieneke said of an informal, player-driven session at Mosaic Stadium. “There were a couple of times when he wasn’t even trying and he was just throwing it 60 or 70 yards — just flinging it.
“He has a cannon. I don’t even know how far he can throw, but it’s got to be 80, 90, maybe 100 yards.”
Dickenson was suitably impressed, but not even remotely surprised.
“That’s Jake,” the Roughriders’ field boss said matter-of-factly when asked about the second-year CFLer. “He can really throw the ball and he came into camp in good shape, too.
“I’ve seen him a little longer, so he didn’t stand out as much for me because I’ve seen him for the last week of rookie camp. But you can tell that he’s very serious about coming in and competing for playing time.”
DAY 1 DEEP DIVE
Who stood out for Coach Dickenson?
“Amari Henderson looks good,” he said of the second-year Roughriders defensive back. “I thought he came into camp a little bigger, a little stronger, and I thought he had a good day.”
Henderson, who played in 11 games with the Roughriders last season, was especially noticeable Sunday while breaking up a pass in the end zone.
Also of note among the defensive backs were Jeremy Clark (who stripped the ball from a receiver), Deontai Williams (pass knockdown in the end zone), Kosi Onyeka (tight coverage on an intermediate route) and La’Andre Thomas (shoulder-to-shoulder with the intended receiver on a deep pass).
Let’s not forget the punters! Kaare Vedvik unleashed a moon shot that had a stratsopheric 4.61 seconds of hang time (profuse thanks to Apple for making a stopwatch standard equipment on an iPhone) and rookie David Solie checked in with a 4.30-second beauty of his own before a hometown crowd. Solie was a Canada West All-Star with the University of Saskatchewan Huskies last year.
Some highlights from the offence …
- We take you back to Dolegala, whose first pass in the opening eight-on-eight drill was a perfectly placed rainbow, deep down the right sideline. It was truly majestic and belongs on TSN.
- Shortly thereafter, Dolegala found newcomer Isaiah McKoy — whose signing was announced Saturday — down the left seam for six points. It’s early yet, but the former Kent State standout looks like the real McKoy.
- Dolegala to Kendall Watson for a deep connection.
- Dolegala to Kalija Lipscomb through a tight window over the middle. Lipscomb caught the pass in stride and navigated his way to the end zone.
- Running back Kienan LaFrance got into the act, hauling in a TD toss deep down the left sideline and eliciting well-deserved applause for his efforts.
- On a seam route, Harris launched a dart in the direction of Shawn Bane Jr., who also reached the end zone on a corner route when Dolegala (this is a recording) found the mark near the left sideline, just inside the flag. Harris feels that Bane “is going to be a candidate for the breakout-player-of-the-year.”
- Rolling to his left, right-handed pivot Shea Patterson made a difficult throw — unfurling a spiral toward the end zone. Third-year Roughrider Mason Fine followed up with a dandy deep ball of his own.
SHORT SNORTS
• Defensive back Rolan Milligan and linebacker Derrick Moncrief did not participate in the Day 1 workout. In the case of Milligan, it was “just precautionary,” according to Dickenson. “He just got finished driving about 30 hours to get here (from Florida). He was a little bit swelled up from the drive, so we just took it easy on him. He’s a veteran player and he’s going to be here in the end, so we wanted him to go easy.” Moncrief, meanwhile, is recovering from shoulder surgery. “We’re going to take it easy with him until we feel he’s full-go,” said Dickenson, who hopes the 2022 West Division All-Star will be ready for the June 11 regular-season opener against the host Edmonton Elks.
- Offensive tackle Jeremiah Poutasi and receiver Jester Weah are on the suspended list. Weah, who attended camp last year, played in two regular-season games in 2022. Poutasi, a third-round draft choice of the NFL’s Tennessee Titans in 2015, had signed with Saskatchewan in November. “I think they’re shutting it down,” Dickenson said. “They didn’t report to camp, so we’ll put them on the suspended list. We’ll visit with them and see what’s up.”
- Special guest on Sunday: Link Johnson, a three-year-old Welsh Corgi. Link was delighted to see Roughriders guard Evan Johnson during and after Sunday’s session.
- Special moment on Sunday: My wonderful colleagues Arielle Zerr (Director, Communications) and Thomas Judek (Communications Co-ordinator) marked Mother’s Day by handing out flowers to the moms who were in the stands at Griffiths Stadium.
- One female fan to Wieneke, who signed with Saskatchewan in February after spending his first three CFL seasons with the Montreal Alouettes: “Welcome to Riderville!” The always-affable Wieneke smiled, waved, and said, “Thank you!”
- Monday’s training-camp session is to begin at 9 a.m. and conclude at noon. Here’s hoping that my new furry friend, Link, will return and once again bask in the adoration of Rider Nation.
- Can you tell that I miss my dog?! And anyone who spends significant time away from Evan Johnson’s dog will inevitably find themselves … wait for it … missing Link. (Arf.)
