SASKATOON — With the Saskatchewan Roughriders rookie camp hitting the field at Griffiths Field in Saskatoon on Wednesday, there will be plenty of battles in every position as players look to stick with the team beyond opening week.
It won’t be an easy task, to be sure — any time a player is trying to crack the line-up of the defending Grey Cup champions, it’s going to take something special — but that won’t keep the crop of young up-and-coming players from doing all they can to attract the attention of management and coaching staff.
One of the more interesting battles will see a host of Canadian talent looking to land spots in the Riders receiving corps, especially with the off-season departure of nationals Tommy Nield and Ajou Ajou. How things will shake out will come down to what the team sees this week, but head coach Corey Mace has no qualms when it comes to selecting Canadian talent for the team — especially with the quality crew they currently have in camp.
“It's going to be a competition amongst those guys for sure,” Mace said after practice on Wednesday, adding that U of S Huskies grad Daniel Wiebe and second-year veteran D’Sean Mimbs are two that have an initial leg up on the competition.
“Mimbs has been around the system for a while, Wiebe had a training camp with us last year and they play the Canadian game. Shemar (McBean) had an outstanding season at UBC last year. But certainly, we're not afraid to play Canadian receivers. We've got some really good ones, so those guys are going to be in the mix to go and try to earn a spot in this team.”
Wiebe is coming off his fifth season with the Huskies and was named the top player in the Canada West conference after catching 78 passes for 1,275 yards and 13 touchdowns last season. He expects the quality of Canadian talent vying for a spot in main camp will make for quality competition and ideally bring the best out of everyone.
“Great players all around and they push you to be better as well, so I love competition,” Wiebe said. “It makes you a better player, makes everyone around you better.”
It’s Wiebe’s second camp with the Riders after getting a taste of things in the lead-up to the 2025 campaign, and he hopes the added experience will make a difference.
“I kind of know what to expect a little bit, so preparation-wise I can prepare a little differently, but at the end of the day, it's camp,” Wiebe said. “I gotta come out ready every single day and get better every single day and be ready to compete, so there are a lot of similarities for sure.”
Meanwhile, this is all a new situation for the former UBC standout McBean who was drafted in the sixth round by the Riders in 2026 after capping a four-year U Sports career that saw him catch 158 passes for 2,477 yards and 13 touchdowns. Like Wiebe, he hopes to see the competition bring out the best in everyone involved.
“We’re all Canadians and we’re going through the same process, the same positions and same plays, so we’ll work together and help each other out,” McBean said of the competition. “I’ve been playing against them all the time and now we’re on the same team. The university rivalry is gone now, we’re teammates and let’s work to that.”
Rookie camp continues through Friday at Griffiths Stadium in Saskatoon, with the veterans arriving in force on Saturday and main camp beginning Sunday.
Be sure to check SportsCage.com often for regular reports throughout training camp.
