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Rider Mini Camp Ends, Outbreak of Hope Begins!

Apr 12, 2016 | 3:45 PM

We’re a tough football crowd in Saskatchewan.

We’ve had only four real highs, a bunch of moral victories and a fan base with an intensity that dwarfs anything in Canada. So when we are coming off a 3-15 season and seen two Riders who exemplified the best of this province let go for salary cap reasons, there are a lot of people sitting on a high fence, perhaps not willing to commit like before in case this new crew manages to do worse than 3-15.

The hiring of Chris Jones and staff by Rider CEO Craig Reynolds marked the start of what is turning out to be one of the most profound culture changes in the 105 years this franchise has rocked the Prairies. The only thing I can recall being similar is when Kent Austin and Eric Tillman took over the Riders in 2007.

The Florida mini-camp started on Saturday with a massive try-out and the best of those players were invited over to the mini-camp the next day. There were over 100 players who signed up for Saturday and the Riders carried over 14 to the mini-camp which featured over 100 players.

The Riders did their testing and then put the players into groups for further evaluation. The pace at the camp was high speed and if the offense didn’t get the ball in play before time was whistled in, they lost their rep.

The Riders brought in their scouting staff to help have as many eyes on the players as possible. It was a high intensity camp that provided the Riders with hopefully enough information to form their invites to the main camp in Saskatoon.

First let’s look at the quarterback:  Darian Durant, Brett Smith, Dan Lefevour, , B.J. Coleman, Jacob Huesman (La.Tech), Moses Skillon (Morgan St.), Shane Austin (Hawaii), David Watford (Hampton/Virginia), Jameel Sewell (Virginia), Marquel Neasman (UCF). 

The first question was how Darian Durant looked and I was a bit taken back seeing him in interviews looking at least 25 or 30 pounds lighter.  Missing the most of two seasons has changed Durant a bit from where he once had a chip on his shoulder to now he wants to make the most of the time he has left. By all accounts, he threw a great looking ball.

With Durant looking like he has recovered, the battle is one for number 2 and Smith and Coleman appear to be locked in completion for that spot.

Coleman was formerly with the Green Bay Packers and John Murphy, the Riders vice president of player personnel, has been trying to bring Coleman to Canada, first with Winnipeg, then Calgary for a number of years. Armnanti Edwards, the quarterback/wide receiver who was an intriguing pick up by the team, suffered an injury early in camp and didn’t have a chance to make much of an impression.

A number of people, including myself, were wondering if the Riders were really planning to just go with Josh Bartel in the punters spot. The Riders reassured people that every spot would face competition when Johnny Mark, who you may remember the Riders drafted in 2014, Alex Sy from Montreal and Steve Schott from the Oakanagan Juniors showed up. Initial reports said Marks was punting the air out of the football, so expect him to get an invite to camp.

When you wrap your heads around the logistics for this camp, handling about 200 players, putting them up, feeding them, evaluating them and then meeting with each individually afterwards, the Riders are operating at a level far beyond anyone might have expected.

This renewed emphasis on scouting, especially with Canadians, may pay off big time as players like Aaron Picton, a former University of Regina Ram offensive lineman who was drafted by Calgary and then traded back to Saskatchewan, showed he had what it took against the defensive linemen. Picton plays several positions and versatility is what Jones is looking for from his players.

Jeremy Kelley, the former Toronto Argonaut wide receiver who signed as a free agent with the Riders, was switched over to defensive back because the coaches liked his character and wanted to see the various ways he could contribute to the club. Another player making the switch was Jordan Reaves who was signed as a receiver, but moved to defensive back because he was a basketball player in university and hasn’t had much football experience. He does have the size and as the son of Willard Reaves, formerly of the God Less Winnipeg Blue Bumblers, he has the physical size and talent that could be developed on the practice roster.

One name to keep in mind is 6’7” Caesar Rayford who has had a few NFL stops in addition to one in Calgary where he stuck in the memory banks of John Murphy. Unlike previous camps where there was a drop off in talent, the talent throughout this camp was solid and Rayford showed well in likely earning an invitation to the main camp.

One receiver who stepped up was receiver Marquez Clark who sports an Odell Beckham Jr. hair-do and apparently has the hands and speed that earned him a shot with the Atlanta Falcons. Another fast receiver is Etauj Allen, who saw some time with the Riders last year and survived the post-season purge.

Murphy said in an interview that physical attributes were not enough to make the club; the Riders are looking at player’s attitude, their ability to get over mistakes and learn from them, their classroom work, how they accept coaching and how they finish off the practice.
Two interesting names that popped up were running backs Chevron Walker and Paris Cotton. Walker was a speedster with Ottawa and Hamilton while Cotton was with Winnipeg until getting injured. Both players got released and are using this as a second chance to get on the field.

The Riders gave a bit of a preview of what they are looking for in an offense with rolling the quarterback out, which fits in with the skill set that Durant gives and will probably help Smith.

Now while the reports out of Florida were great, the work is not done for the Riders. They appear to have at least another six free agent camps to go before the main camp starts in Saskatoon at the end of May. Speaking of May, the new Rider jersey is expected to be unleashed on May 12 and the word is they have dumped the side stripe on the jersey and it is supposed to look more classical.

One can only hope, but personally speaking, after I picked up the signature jerseys, I was astounded at how comfortable they felt. The announcement over the new jerseys will only help to whet people’s attitudes and I think a trip to Saskatoon to take in training camp is in order because while every team says they have done well, this team is attempting to deal with the shortcomings left to it by Cory Chamblin and Brendan Taman by recruiting even more intensely the Canadians that may have fallen through the cracks.

I’ve been through enough training camps to know that a player who looks good in practice sometimes disappears when the bullets start flying in a game. The work ethic of the Riders is both inspiring and intimidating, and they have set out to rebuild this club and put in place a system that works and delivers Grey Cups.

I hate to say this, but I am getting a pretty good feeling about this.