On Wednesday morning, the Saskatchewan Roughriders were on the field for the first time in 179 days. It was the opening day of the Riders’ annual rookie camp at Griffiths Stadium on the University of Saskatchewan campus in Saskatoon.
Fifty-four players participated in the full workout, which was focused on acclimatizing the new players to the Canadian game. Drills focused on the five-yard halo on punt returns, maximizing the waggle for receivers and reacting to pre-snap movement were emphasized.
Head coach Corey Mace recognized there was some work to be done.
“I think understanding the nuances of the game. Coming up here, we covered some stuff last night in meetings and then being able to take that to the field for the first time, so there’s a period where we give a little bit of grace. There’ll be a lot of stuff for us to coach off of today, but a lot of these cats figured out what win looks like too out here, which is nice.”
Mace and his staff are also reminded the players prior to taking the field that they are being evaluated and competing for jobs.
“There are so many things that we look at. I just told them, there are always eyes on you, whether we see it in real time or we catch it on film. So, be the professional we ask you to be.”
Other notes from today’s workout:
- Roughriders hopefuls got a crash course in Saskatchewan wind conditions. The wind increased throughout the workout, eventually gusting 60 KM/H by the end.
- Receiver Jayden Horace left the workout after sustaining a leg injury during a non-contact drill. Horace was running a sideline route, after the rep, he went down on the turf and called for the trainers. He was subsequently carted off the field and didn’t return. The Roughriders signed the six-foot-one, 180-pound Horace on April 16 after he completed his college career at Fort Hays State University. As a senior with the Tigers, he caught 56 passes for 704 yards and eight touchdowns in 11 games.
- Roughriders sixth-round draft pick Gideon Agyei recorded the workout’s plays of the day. Agyei showed his explosive speed by breaking up a screen pass. Quarterback Michael Heirs dropped back, looking to his left for receiver Joe Robustelli in the flat. However, Agyei burst through a pair of blockers to knock down the pass, much to the delight of defensive backs coach and pass game coordinator, Joshua Bell. Adding to his already impressive debut in Green and White, Agyei would make an interception, stepping in front of a receiver, catching a Jack Coan pass in the team period.
- Up next, the Saskatchewan Roughriders will participate in team and positional meetings for the remainder of Wednesday before returning to the field Thursday at 8:30 a.m.
Saskatchewan Roughriders rookie camp roster:
No. Name Position No. Name Position
7 Trevor Harris* QB 62 Nick Jones* OL
9 Jake Maier* QB 65 Daniel Johnson OL
13 Anton Amundrud QB 70 Richard Aduboffour DB
14 Jack Coan* QB 71 Ben Hadley K
16 Michael Hiers* QB 71 Gideon Agyei # DB
16 Eddie Heckard* DB 7 2 Kolade Amusan DL
17 Tommy Stevens* QB 74 Liam Hoskins # LB
17 Phalen Sanford* DB 75 Jayden Horace* WR
24 Trent Pennix* RB 75 Dalton Urban (jr.) DB
24 Nicario Harper* DB 76 Joe Couch^ P
27 Khalan Laborn* RB 76 Johnathon Stevens (jr.) DL
29 Mario Anderson* RB 77 Zack Philion LB
29 Alfahiym Walcott* DB 79 Octavious Oxendine* DL
30 Mark Webb* DB 80 Wayne Ruby Jr.* WR
33 Drae McCray* WR 82 Joe Robustelli* WR
33 Antoine Brooks Jr.* DB 85 D’Sean Mimbs WR
37 Robert Javier* DB 86 Ty James* WR
39 Morgen Runge FB 87 Daniel Wiebe # WR
39 Braxton Hill* LB 90 Jordan Smith* DL
50 Jake Levengood* OL 91 Aaron Patrick* DL
50 Seth Hundeby # LB 94 Eric Black* DL
54 Julius Buelow* OL 97 Justin Jefferson* DL
59 Kendy Charles* DL 98 Alex Gubner* DL
60 Payton Collins* OL 00 Natan Girouard-Langlois FB
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