Every Monday afternoon on the SportsCage, join Barney Shynkaruk and members from the Saskatchewan Roughriders’ coaching staff with a breakdown of game match-ups and the very latest from inside the Riders’ locker room.
On July 28, offensive line coach Edwin Harrison was our guest on the Riders Coaches Show.
Barney Shynkaruk:
Coach Edwin Harrison, how’s it going? How’s it going today? Hey, we’re smiling. We’re six and one, right?
Edwin Harrison:
Harrison:
Yeah, y’all actually, the great thing is I really am, listen, six and one, but we have a tremendous, tremendous challenge in front of us with the Montreal Alouettes. And I can’t say, I don’t know what more to say about them. They are extremely well coached. They are big, they’re physical, they’re fast. So we are, you know, we are hard at work, to say the least.
Shynkaruk
You know, Noah Zerr going in for us on Friday, you know, young guy getting the call to start Langenberg. A lot of, I’m sure people were trucking in from his hometown. How do you assess his game coach?
Harrison:
You know what, I pleasantly, I think Noel did a lot of good things in the game for us. Noel has been in the system now for two years. He’s been in that line room. He’s worked extremely hard this off season, as well as a lot of those men in that room. I thought, you know, he played well enough for us to win the football game. But just like, you know, whether it’s Noah Zerr or whether it’s Jermarcus Hardrick, all those guys have a lot of things that they need to improve on if we want to do and go to the places that we say and where we want to go.
So just a positive stepping stone though, in the right direction.
Shynkaruk
On the Zack Fry piece, getting a call or text, whatever it was, that one of your players had been in a car accident, that’s got to be emotional.
Harrison:
Yeah, you know, what’s crazy about that is as a parent of a five-year-old and an eight-year-old, my mind immediately went to his parents and getting a call that my child’s car had flipped over is, I really can’t explain that enough. I don’t really, I’m honestly at a loss for words. Not only Zach, but the, you know, the other guys that were in the car with him, I just, you know, your heart just kind of stops.
And like I said, having two sons of my own, I’d, you know, I’d, you know, you just thank God that everybody got out of there, you know, in reasonably good health. So, yeah, I don’t know what to say. God is good, man.
It really is, so.
Greg McCulloch:
Switching over to the, we talked about Zerr, let’s go to the other Saska boy, Logan Furlan, of the Regina Thunder near and dear to me. How beneficial is it to have a guy that’s that versatile that you can just slot anywhere, even though he’s kind of stuck at center this season?
Harrison:
Yeah, I, you know, going last year and continuing into this year, I can’t say enough about Logan. Logan probably is at this facility as long as I am. I really don’t, I don’t think, I don’t think people truly understand the amount of time that that man has invested into this, into this organization, into his, into his craft as a professional.
And I really think that he has done an outstanding job taking whatever the situation has called for, whatever, whatever this team has asked him to do, he has done it and he has excelled at doing it. And I just couldn’t be any prouder of him. Um, the funny thing is that it was a two, two home games ago.
I was fortunate enough to meet his mother and his aunt at the Ryder store. Um, as I was literally pulling in for the game, I saw two Furlan jerseys, um, walk into the Ryder store and I just knew, had to have known. Um, I had to know that was, that was his, uh, his family, um, tremendous family.
Um, his mother, his father is his brothers are, are extremely proud of him. And, and, and, and I, I obviously I’m just another one in the long, long line of people that are, are, are very pleased, pleased with him on and off the football field.
Shynkaruk
Um, we see an unfortunate injury of Kareem carry. Mary Anderson comes in, you know, short week, Hey, you’re, you’re playing a lot of that. You know, there is a lot of the blocking game that goes into a, to a new running back coming in.
Um, how has Mario adapted? You know, how are you working with him?
Harrison:
Uh, you know, I, he’s done, he’s really done coming in and, and been a real professional. Um, but I think a lot of that, more of that has to go to our running backs coach, Andrew Harris, who, um, has really done a tremendous job, um, stepping into the role, um, left by Anthony for tally, um, this past, uh, off season. Um, but I, you know, I can’t think of anybody to anybody better to coach you then, you know, I might have a biased opinion, but probably arguably one of the greatest running backs in this league, um, you know, Canadian or American, uh, I, I think he is, you know, having fortunate able to coach him in Toronto, he is, there’s ain’t nobody better in that room.
Shynkaruk
Do you think he could have played a couple of plays if you guys would have really needed them?
Harrison:
Man, you know what, there is nothing Andrew Harris can’t do. Let me just say that. I mean, I’ve seen far too much him coming back from a torn pick in Toronto and playing, helping us win a great cup back in 22.
Uh, he and AJ it’s crazy for them both to being back in that room together. Um, there’s nothing Andrew Harris can’t do. Yeah.
McCulloch
Looking ahead to Montreal this week, you already said they’re a well-coached team with Noel Thorpe, obviously. What about the possibility of Shawn Lemon coming back for some short packages, some small things, what, what do you expect them to, what wrinkles do you think that’s going to bring?
Harrison:
Oh, whenever Shawn Lemon is on the football field, you need to be constantly aware and alert of where he is. Um, Shawn Lemon is a good friend of mine. Um, I, uh, as soon as, as soon as the commissioner lifted him, lifted up his, um, his, uh, suspension, I immediately sent him a, one of the emoji gift pictures, somebody eliminated he back and I, and I’m, I couldn’t be thrilled for him.
Um, he’s a, he’s a good man. And, uh, you know, we all, every, everybody at some point or another, unless you are Jesus Christ himself has all made mistakes and I couldn’t be happy for, couldn’t be happier for him that he’s back in the league. Um, I thrilled to see him.
Um, like I said, he’s a good man. He’s a good friend of mine. Um, so I’m, I’m excited.
I really am just to see him back out there, Montreal.
Shynkaruk
There’s always a, and I know they said they got rid of the horns, but those stupid horns there, there’s always crowd noise, which plays in for your bunch, right? We can’t be jumping off side a bunch.
Harrison:
Right. And you know, I think, I think the, the men in my room have done a really excellent job. I want to say it’s about two or three weeks ago.
Um, I, you know, Marc, Corey, we challenged the men, not only in that room, but on this team to be a more disciplined football team, to be a more disciplined unit, because quite frankly, in the beginning of the season, the penalties had gotten out of hand to just put it, to put it mildly, the penalties were getting ridiculous. Um, and you know, we constantly say in this room, um, and they echo it now is that discipline truly is what wins championships. That is why Winnipeg has been and done what they’ve done over the last five, six years.
That is why the time that, that I had in Calgary, that is why we did over those close to a decade. Um, it, it discipline wins championships. I, there, there’s no other way to say it.
You have to be a disciplined football team.
McCulloch
Also staying healthy helps you win championships, but for, not for you, for some reason, you, you keep on being able to find guys and roll guys through. I think we set a record last year for many alignment. How do you keep on getting these guys ready for game day?
Harrison:
I, uh, you know, I, I, I would love to take credit for that, but those men have worked tremendously hard. I said, even, you know, before camp started, you know, they had their own offensive line, mini camp, I guess you would call it or OTAs or, um, O-line school that they did. They came up, um, probably a week and a half to two weeks before training camp had even started.
Um, and got together doing on-field work, getting in the classroom, watching film. So those men are, are committed to doing whatever it takes. And I mean, whatever it takes to, um, to win.
So, um, you know, you need to take some credit for that.
Shynkaruk
I thought you should be up for coach of the year in the province for whatever, for what you did last year. I was, I know, you know, you want to, and the guys do a lot of work, but what you did last year was amazing. I’m coach and you’re doing a heck of a job again this year.
Harrison:
I appreciate it. That, that, that means a lot. I, um, when I knew when, when we took, when we took this job and Corey called me, um, the great thing I love about this place is that expectations couldn’t be any higher.
Um, and I remember Kirby Smart said this at his, about two years ago when he was speaking at a, at the SEC media day, he said that pressure, pressure is a privilege. It is a privilege. It really is.
It, it is, it is a privilege for, for people to have high expectations of you and the work that you produce. Um, you know, it was a time and I’ve been some places where didn’t nobody expect nothing out of us and it’s, and it is a blessing to be a place where people expect everything and, you know, and to be able to find a way to deliver is that’s, that’s what, you know, winning here, winning here is just different.
Shynkaruk
Do you ever look, do you ever look up at the stadium and go, they’ve only won it four times?
Harrison:
Yeah.
Shynkaruk
Well, I asked, I asked Andrew Harris to steal it cause he was on and he’s got, you know, how many does he have on his own? And then he’s, I was like, and he’s like, yeah, no, I had no idea. They only wanted four times a lot, a lot, six, maybe.
Harrison:
Yeah. And you know, I’ve been, you know, I’ve been very blessed to be, you know, to win one in Calgary as a player, to win one in Toronto as a coach. Um, um, but maybe that’s, maybe that’s what it, maybe that’s what it is is that, and I really believe this fellas that, that winning here is different.
Yeah. And, and, and please make no mistake. I love Calgary.
I love my time there. The time that I spent the friends that I have, my lifelong friends, um, the coaches that I was fortunate to play for, but winning here is different. It’s different.
It just, and I, and I can’t, I don’t know any other way to say it. It’s just different here. So, um, and it’s awesome, but I will say this when I walk into that stadium every day and I look up and I realize this is where I get to work every day.
Shynkaruk
Yeah.
Harrison:
It’s amazing. It is amazing.
McCulloch
Okay. What do you got? I just wanted him to compare, uh, Cal, uh, Calgary’s offices to the, uh, the ones that are mosaic at coach trailer.
Harrison:
Yeah. Oh, it is. Um, you can plead the fifth on that one.
Shynkaruk
I just wanted the reaction. That’s all. I got a football question for you.
That’s kind of going around. There’s a guy, you know, played down South cup of coffee in Kansas city. And you, you know, you know, the Canada, the Canadian game.
So well, that yard that that’s gotta be given right on the line. Right. Who’s got the bigger advantage there.
Harrison:
I, I would say it’s a couple of things. I would think that run game wise, it’s tougher, the yard off the ball because the defense has the ability to move and adjust. Um, but the crazy thing is fellas, it’s an adjustment.
One of the biggest things that the American guys have when they come up here is the contact doesn’t happen right then. So they have to, it, it, it is, it’s hard for younger American players because they’re moving so fast because they’re expecting that guy to be right there up on him right there when the ball is snapped, but they’re not. So they have to re train themselves and the punch timing.
Um, once you get used to it, I think the pass protection helps the yard off the ball, but the run game was, it was, was extremely tough for me when I came into the league in 2010. Um, it was, it was tough because I couldn’t, I was used to really going off the ball right now, contact right then. And it wasn’t happening and they were moving and I was in a bad position and it was just, it’s an adjustment.
It really is. It really is.
Shynkaruk
So one more, just football one for you. And I gotta get your take. What did you think?
I’m sure you’ve, if you didn’t watch the game last night, you would have seen it on social media today. What do you think of that interception by Robert Carter Jr. Last night from BC?
Harrison:
Oh, that was, that, that was one of the most incredible catches I’ve ever seen. Like people would like, you know, everybody talks about the, the Odell Beckham catch, um, when he was with the giants down in the end zone, but that catch, I’ve, I’ve never seen anything like that in a DB. That’s, that, that’s insane.
Like that’s, that’s incredible.
McCulloch
Yeah. They put you a DB cause you can’t catch now because you can make one hour, one hour, one hand stabs like that.
Harrison:
Yeah. It’s apparently, I think the, the, the same, the same kid, he’s done that before though. They had a clip in college, right?
Shynkaruk
Yeah. Here it is right here. If you’re watching the stream, like, yeah, we couldn’t, we couldn’t even make those in video game coach back in the day.
Harrison:
Like, I don’t, I don’t know if, if, if anybody, you know, people, I hope your fans are listening, people tuning in. That is, that is incredible what you’re watching. You may never see another one of those catches in a lifetime.
That’s incredible. Yeah. Like it’s incredible.
Shynkaruk
So yeah, it’s amazing. You’re a Colorado guy. We had done last year.
We talked about that. Unfortunate news sounds like, uh, Dion Sanders, because the health issue is going to, going to step down in Colorado. Any thoughts on that?
Harrison:
You know, with health, you know, that’s all you really have is time. Time is the most, is the most valuable commodity we have. You can always make money.
You can always buy stuff. You can always travel, but you can never make time. Like you can never, you can’t create more time.
So health is the number one thing. If, if you know, he has, he has, I don’t know how many children he has. I know he’s got grandchildren, man.
You got to do whatever it is that you got to do to watch your children grow up, to hold your grandkids. Um, you can’t get time back. That’s all I just said right there.
You cannot get time back.
Shynkaruk
Well said. All right, coach. Uh, thanks for making some time today on a busy Monday as you guys get set for Montreal.
I appreciate you. Uh, want to know this week, right?
Harrison:
Yes, sir. Want to know? All right.
Have a good week. Y’all take care of fellows. Thank you very much.
Shynkaruk
Thank you. Uh, offensive line coach who last year should have won some sort of award. Oh, citizen of the year.
Do they still do that award in Saskatchewan?
McCulloch
I think every, uh, every episode we were, uh, uh, starting the, uh, starting a campaign to get them a blank check. Like whatever you want, just write it down and stay here forever.
Shynkaruk
Guys from the defense coming over and playing and doing a heck of a job. Yeah. Coach Edwin, uh, Harrison, awesome to have him on.
And our coaches show is for Regina steel craft doors made in Western Canada for Western Canada and the rough rider foundation. And they’re 50 50, which is another big one this week.
