ALOUETTES OPEN FLORIDA MINICAMP

In an undeniable sign that the football season is just around the corner, the Montreal Alouettes took the field for the first time in 2016 on Wednesday, at Oxbridge Academy in West Palm Beach.

Gorgeous Florida weather prevailed as more than 80 players, comprised of rookies and veterans who are all vying for a spot the club’s roster, took part in a two-hour practice.

After getting their feet untangled, players took part in one-on-one drills, which gave way to some spectacular catches. However, the defensive backs got off to a strong start, as they prevented the first seven passes from being caught.

Samuel Giguère was among the receivers who made spectacular catches during practice, when he caught a pass with the tip of his fingers all while diving to the ground. Recently-signed receiver Corbin Louks also made a nice catch on a throw by veteran quarterback Kevin Glenn. Louks also opened eyes in the skelly period a few minutes later when he caught a 30-yard pass from Anthony Boone in the end zone.

Kevin Glenn and receiver S.J. Green started where they left off late last season and their comfort level seemed just as high as they completed a play that looked so easy to them. Receiver Jerry Rice Jr. showed up in great shape and probably made the catch of the day when he got out of double coverage in the end zone, before catching a 30-yard dart from Boone, a catch seemed to charge up the offence.

Popp Satisfied
Alouettes General Manager and Head Coach Jim Popp was glad to finally see the team he spent a good part of the off-season assembling come together on the field.

“We have an amazing team on paper and what we have to do now, is translate it on the field. We totally revamped our offence and now we are starting to do a little bit here at minicamp and it gives us a taste of what we are going to see in about a month at training camp,” said Popp. “It feels good to see the guys in action after we acquired a few people in the off-season and finally bring everybody together and let them start absorbing the new things we put in.”

Back on the Field
The Alouettes will be back on the field on Thursday as the team will return to the Oxbridge Academy Field starting at 10:40 a.m. for day two of minicamp.