REGINA — Saskatchewan Roughriders' strong-side linebacker C.J. Reavis has played so many games at the position that it might be easy to forget he’s actually listed as a defensive back.
It’s expected fans will get a chance to re-acquaint themselves with Reavis in the defensive secondary on Friday night when the Roughriders travel to Ottawa to take on the Redblacks.
Injuries and personnel decisions have resulted in Reavis making a move to safety during practice this week and earned him the start at that position on Friday. It’s nothing new for the fourth-year veteran, especially given the fact he’s played as the last line of defence in the CFL before.
“I played safety my first year up here, so it's not really that different for me,” Reavis said. “I think it's gonna be good. I get to talk to my guys more because as [a strong-side linebacker], I'm a little limited because of where I'm at in the defence. Now I can get to both sides of the field easier, I can communicate with the boundary side and field side, I think it'll be better for us.”
Reavis will be stepping into a secondary that has had a bit of difficulty the last couple of games, especially when it comes to giving up deep passes at inopportune moments. One of Reavis’ jobs will be to use his veteran acumen to help deal with that issue and he’s confident the team’s preparation will take a positive step in that direction.
”I think we gotta trust our keys and stay deepest to deepest,” Reavis explained. “I think it's a really simple game and teams have been throwing the deep ball on us because we've been stopping our feet a little bit with our eyes in the backfield. We gotta do the game plan, stick to the game plan and do it right.”
Part of that is understanding the play and knowing where to focus and when. That’s ‘having good eyes’ and Reavis expanded on that aspect of the game.
“There’s a saying in football, ‘See a little, see a lot,” Reavis said. “So if you see too much, you're seeing too much, but if you see a little bit, then you're actually seeing a lot. I think it's weird to say, but the less you see, the more you see. It can be boring for you, but the less you see, there’s a lot of good it can do for you."
“Then knowing your keys or reading the right keys. Sometimes guys can get a little bit out of whack reading the wrong keys or seeing too much stuff. It's a lot because everybody is motioning and six guys are moving at one time. It's not like down south, so it trains your eye a little bit more. But if you can read the quarterback and read the mesh point, I think it'll be easier.”
Head coach Corey Mace is confident Reavis will have success when placed in the role and described him as an ‘ultimate communicator’ on the field when asked what will help him in his return to the safety position.
“C.J. he probably talks too much, but you need to at that position,” Mace said. “From C.J.'s standpoint, being in the defence for a couple years, being able to communicate and orchestrate back there [is very important].”
Reavis’ move to safety comes due to both Jaxon Ford (knee) and Nelson Lokombo (ankle) currently sitting on the one-game injured list due to injuries. The Roughriders also released defensive back Kosi Onyeka due to violating the team's code of conduct, a player Reavis had grown close to.
“When I was down south, I think my rookie year I had 10 different locker mates, so I think I'm used to it at this point, but it never gets easier,” he said of dealing with the realities of the pro game. “Especially when you build chemistry with a guy, a relationship with a guy. Me and Kosi have been together here for my whole four years I've been here, so it's gonna be tough seeing him go.”
The Rider Broadcast Network has the pre-game show at 2:30 p.m. on Friday with Teagan Witko, Justin Dunk and Wes Cates. Dave Thomas and Luc Mullinder have the game call at kickoff at 5:30 p.m. on 620 CKRM.
