DAY 1 RIDER CAMP REPORT
By: Troy Souster
SASKATOON – Day 1 of Rider Training Camp began Sunday on a bright, sunny but breezy morning. The temperature at the beginning of practice was around 13 degrees. With 80+ players for the first session of camp, it was a little bit of organized chaos trying to keep track of all the new numbers and names.
Being the first practice of the new season, there were many new faces to watch and many interesting storylines to follow. In no particular order, here are a few highlights…
Offensive Highlights…. To the surprise of many, Manny Arceneaux was back on the field in his familiar #84. Rumored to be out until sometime close to mid-season, Arceneaux was running routes, planting and making the cuts that receivers need to be making. While he may not be at 100%, he looked to be doing everything he could to make sure he’s ready to go and familiar with a new offense. Arceneaux had one of the highlights on offense during the later stages of practice when he caught a long pass down the seam for what would have been a touchdown. That play brought a roar of approval from the crowd in attendance.
Get excited about Brayden Lenius. He will be a BIG target in the receiving corp. Will he make an impact right away or be eased into the offense slowly, a la Andy Fantuz when he was a Rookie? That remains to be seen. But this is much is true, he’s a big body with nice hands.
Rookie receiver Brock McCoin out of the University of Albama-Birmingham, made an outstanding 35 yard one-handed catch in a 1 on 1 drill.
The Riders success will go as Zach Collaros goes. He had a nice touch on the ball in his timing routes and completed several passes into the wind on fade routes. The veteran QB looked poised on Day 1. David Watford looks to be solidly in the number 2 spot. Keep your eye on Isaac Harker. He has a strong arm. It will be a steep learning curve for the rookie QB but his work ethic is tremendous. He’s quick and he hustles everywhere, all the time.
Dakoda Shepley, the Riders 1st round pick in 2018, spent time at left guard.
In the second half of practice, during the team session, the 5-receiver set offense was as follows…
Coleman – Shepley – LaBatte – Bladek – Vaughn
Cannon – Watson – Roosevelt – Evans – Moore
Collaros and Watford split time at QB
This was how the defense was set up:
Leonard – Johnson – Evans – Hughes
King – Judge – Moncrief
Bouka – Brown – Edem – Gainey – Marshall
Defensive Highlight: Nick Marshall had a nice defensive knock down that should have resulted in an interception. That was followed up by the customary 10 push-ups in the end zone.
If Sunday’s practice was any indication, the Rider defense of 2019 will be fast and aggressive. D-line coach Mike Scheper was racing around the field coaching up his players. He’s intense and ready for the season.
New Head Coach, Craig Dickenson spent a lot of time overseeing some Special Teams drills.
Some notable absences at today’s first practice… Riders 1st Round pick, Justin McInnis was not dressed. Neither was the recently signed, Solomon Elimimian. They were (apparently) absent due to helping out with the CBA discussions with players from other teams. Long-snapper, Jorgen Hus was also on the sidelines.
For What It’s Worth: Sunday’s scheduled practice time was 9:00 to 1130. The coaching staff was all out on the turf prior to 9:00 am. The first players didn’t trickle out of the club house until 9:10. Practice wrapped up at 11:40. We know that everyone is tired of the CBA talk but maybe this was a message by the players that they weren’t happy with the 11th hour attempted changes to the CBA.
