OUT OF THE TUNNEL: 10 THINGS TO WATCH AT RIDER CAMP

PHOTO: Lisa Lukye

BY: RODPEDERSEN.COM STAFF

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Finally, after an off-season that was dominated by the labour impasse between the CFL and the CFLPA, they came together and grinded to an agreement and so now we can just talk about the fun stuff on the field.

That begins this week for the Saskatchewan Roughriders. If you are able to stop by Griffiths Stadium for any of the practices, or are just keenly watching media reports as we slowly head into the pre-season games, here are 10 things to watch during training camp 2019.

1. Zach Collaros
This is an obvious one and an easy number one. So much of the fans’ venom for the pop-gun Riders offence in 2018 was placed on the shoulders of the now 30-year-old quarterback. (And it shouldn’t have been.)

He now has a full season under his belt with the Roughriders and will need to take a big step for the Green and White to have a successful 2019 season. He will have some fun new tools to play with (William Powell, a pair of high Canadian draft picks, a healthy Naaman Roosevelt, and Manny Arceneaux to name a few) but is also without his top receiver from last season in Jordan Williams-Lambert who is giving the NFL another shot.

It will be important for Collaros to have a great training camp. We think he will and he will turn the corner to have a solid 2019 season.

2. Zach’s Back-up
Let’s hope Collaros remains healthy for the large majority of the season because there are three relatively unknowns behind him.

David Watford has been around the Rider organization for a few seasons now. He will be 26 in the middle of June, so he is still a relatively young player.  In limited action he is able to run the ball well but when placed in strictly passing situations he has been below average at best.

Cody Fajardo was a free agent signee who has spent time with Toronto and B.C. but has been used mainly as a third-down/short-yardage option and hasn’t started a game in his CFL career.

The Riders have two raw rookies in training camp. Isaac Harker was a small-school star at both the Colorado School of Mines and Indiana State. The Riders also recently added Ty Gangi out of Nevada. He was solid in his final season with the Wolfpack throwing for 3,331 and 24 touchdowns.

This may be one of the places where a big surprise will happen and one of the youngsters will step up and take the backup spot for his own.

3. Dakoda Shepley
It’s great to have the Riders 2018 first-round pick in camp and ready to go. It will be interesting to see how a full season away from game action will affect his play early in training camp.
A lot of eyes will be on Shepley and if he is able to live up to his first-round potential it’s a huge boost to the Rider lineup.

4. Defensive Line Rotation
We pretty much know who the front four will be: Charleston Hughes, Zack Evans, Micah Johnson and A.C. Leonard. After that it will be a war for the two or three roster spots with the Riders.

There are 10 other names in training camp fighting for those spots and it will be a treat to watch them battle.

5. Contact Practices
With player safety in mind, there are less than a handful of training camp practices that have players in pads and full contact.

Those practices will be down-right wars. It will be the only time offensive and defensive linemen can 100% tee-off on one another. Linebackers will be able to make full reads and lay the wood to a running back and fullbacks will be able to return the favour to blitzing linebackers.

Those very few contact practices will be some of the most important evaluation sessions for coaches all season.

6. Special Teams Cohesion
The trio of kicker Brett Lauther, punter Jon Ryan and long-snapper Jorgen Hus will be connected at the hip from day one of camp until the final gun sounds at the end of the season.

Watch training camp and see how they get along with each other and how the cohesion grows by each practice. To have this battery running efficiently and with a little fun thrown in as well will be important for the efficiency of the kicking game.

7. Justin McInnis and Brayden Lenius
The Riders first and second round picks from the 2019 CFL Draft are tall, rangy receivers who will need to step up and fill a very shallow Canadian receiver pool.

Both are from the NCAA so the first few practices will be needed to get used to the Canadian game but from there the improvement should be quick and impressive.

Early success by McInnis and Lenius will get Rider fans excited and will give Collaros a pair of solid offensive weapons.

8. Craig Dickenson
It will be a very different feel without the ominous, dark-sunglasses stare of Chris Jones at training camp.

Craig Dickenson is an incredibly positive individual and a breath of fresh air at the top of the coaching staff. Unlike Jones, who was the team’s defensive coordinator, Dickenson will be more of a traditional head coach and will spend time with each unit.

Watching Dickenson deal with the media day in and day out will be interesting. Keep an eye out for the first time he unloads on the team when they are not performing the way they should.

9. On The Bubble
In football, there is always the long-time veteran or fan favourite who sees his career end when training camp finished.

Last year it was Bakari Grant and Rob Bagg (although both did return to play later in the season), but who will be the familiar faces who will no longer be a member of the Saskatchewan Roughriders at the end of training camp?

10. Who’s The Next One?
This is where the Riders need a little youthful infusion to an aging lineup. It’s also fun to see who fans rally around as training camp slowly turns into the beginning of the regular season.

Football is here folks, let’s have some fun!!!