Saskatchewan Roughriders' defensive back Kosi Onyeka has crossed a goal off his list: starting for a professional football team.
"It was a blessing, grateful for the opportunity. I'm blessed to have the trust of coach [Corey] Mace and coach [Joshua] Bell and all the coaching staff," Onyeka told voice of the Green and White, Dave Thomas. "It was a great experience. We came out with the W. We served up four interceptions."
The Riders beat the Winnipeg Blue Bombers in the Labour Day Classic rematch 21-13. Onyeka was Saskatchewan's starting safety and finish the game with two defensive tackles and one special teams tackle. While Onyeka was proud about his accomplishment, he is not satisfied and is aware that there are details that can be improved.
"There's still lots to clean up. This week, we looked at the film and identified things we needed to clean up. We did some good things, but there's always room for improvement," Onyeka said. "We try to carry that on to each week. That was a good team that we beat, Winnipeg, there was extra emphasis on them."
According to Onyeka, he was not overwhelmed by the moment and credits that mindset to his coaches and his teammates.
"We uphold the next man up standard, the standard doesn't decrease, no matter who's in. We all hold each other accountable, my teammates and my coaches held me accountable," Onyeka said. "The extra preparation, the extra studying and the extra work in the weight room paid off. That's what made the transition as smooth as it was, all the preparation that we did as a unit and all the preparation I did, as an individual. It was an easy slide in there, especially with all the guys we got back there — we got ballers. I try to compliment them in my free safety role and do what I can, don't try to do too much, but play within the scheme and it worked."
Mace sees and appreciates the effort Onyeka consistently provides every day.
"He's been working his tail off for us to put the trust in him to go out there and execute in a game of that nature. He is full of energy. Thought he communicated incredibly well," Mace said. "He's got stuff to work on, but as does everybody, everybody made a mistake throughout the game. Ultimately, we were clowning him, he was keeping the top of the defence and he was playing free safety back there, but we'll get him up to speed on his corrections like anybody else."
This year is Onyeka's fourth with the Green and White. He signed in 2022 as an undrafted free agent from the University of Guelph. Last year, the six-foot, 195 pound DB suited up in 10 games for Saskatchewan. He accumulated one defensive tackle, seven special team tackles and one forced fumble.
The Riders host the Montreal Alouettes (5-7) at home on Saturday and Onyeka knows his team cannot coast with its 10-2 record.
"We can't press. We can't do anything out of the ordinary. We've got to do what we do, stick to the script. Montreal is a talented team and they're struggling right now, but this is pro football — any given day a team can win," Onyeka explained. "We've got to stay true to what we do and prepare like it's any other week. Right now, we can't get too caught up in what they've got going on. We got to continue to chop wood and try to put on a show in front of Mosaic."
Teagan Witko, Justin Dunk and Wes Cates bring to you the pre-game show at 2 p.m. on Saturday. Dave Thomas and Luc Mullinder have the game call at 5 p.m. Listen or watch our detailed coverage on the 620 CKRM Co-operators Rider Broadcast Network.
