Roughriders kick off training camp with confidence, talk of more running
The Roughriders have a new quarterback, offensive coordinator and American receivers for 2023
Every CFL team is undefeated this week, and they all probably feel pretty good about their teams after day one of training camp.
Saskatchewan Roughriders head coach Craig Dickenson said exactly that on Sunday as the full team officially kicked off training camp in Saskatoon. But he also truly believes the team can bounce back from a disastrous 6-12 season in 2022.
"I think we're going to have a good year," Dickenson said. "I'm not into predicting much, but I can say this: we're going to be a physical team, we're going to play fast and we're going to enjoy being out there."
One player already enjoying being back out there is wearing green and white for the first time in his 12-year CFL career. Trevor Harris is also the new face of the franchise, and barring any unforeseen circumstances, he'll be the Riders' starting quarterback.
"It was awesome," Harris said after his first practice with the entire team.
"The energy was awesome. The defence was flying around. Offence flying around. It's always fun to get those first few reps with running a new offence, a new scheme and getting the timing with the guys down."
But it's not just about the on-field work when you're a quarterback for the Saskatchewan Roughriders. Immediately after practice, Trevor Harris was getting in some reps with the fans, which included hugs for Mother's Day.
Mothers "are the true superheroes," Harris said. "People don't realize the strength that women really have in terms of the child labour and they're immediately on their feet, they're feeding the kids, and waking up at night. I've got a superhero mom and wife, so I'm just super, super thankful."
Run Run Riders
One position Saskatchewan fans should feel confident about is running back.
Jamal Morrow and Frankie Hickson are back with the Riders and practiced fully on Sunday. Both running backs were putting up CFL-best numbers before injuries in 2022.
There are plenty of other reasons to believe the Riders will rely more on the running game this season. Former running backs coach Kelly Jeffrey is replacing Jason Maas as the Riders offensive coordinator. And when asked if the head coach wants to run the football more this season, Craig Dickenson immediately said "yes."
"I wanna run it more every year," he said, laughing. "But we gotta be able to do it well. So that was a point of emphasis. It's not just the running back, it's the guys up front. But we're going to really emphasize getting off the football and running the ball this year."
It's a long road
Rolan Milligan and CFL all-star Derrick Moncrief didn't practice on Sunday. Milligan's absence came with an only-in-the-CFL explanation.
Milligan's absence "was just precautionary," Dickenson said. "He had just got done driving about 30 hours to get here and he was a little bit swelled up from the drive, so we just took it easy on him. He's a veteran player that's going to be here in the end.
"Moncrief is still coming off that shoulder surgery, so we're going to take it easy with him," Dickenson said.
Every CFL team will be tweaking their rosters daily during training camp. The Riders announced a few moves over the weekend.
On Saturday, they signed American wide receiver Isaiah McKoy. They also released eight players, including quarterback Zerrick Cooper and offensive lineman Matthew Derks.
Jeremiah Poutasi, Rashard Robinson and Jester Weah were all added to the suspended list. Dickenson says they didn't report to camp.
"I think they're shutting it down. We'll visit with them and see what's up."
The Riders continue training camp at Griffiths Stadium in Saskatoon from 9 a.m. to 12 p.m. on Monday.
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