REGINA – The Saskatchewan Roughriders have seen a bit of a carousel in their kick return game through the first third of the CFL season, but with the performance of two of the team’s newcomers over the last couple weeks, those issues might be in the rearview mirror.
It didn’t take long for rookie Mathew Sexton to initially seize the job outright, and it looked like he was the man for the job until a nasty leg injury sidelined him for the foreseeable future. The Riders then looked to receiver Sam Emilus for a short time, but wear-and-tear with his regular receiving duties and an ankle injury saw that experiment come to a quick end.
Then came the most recent solution, and it’s a duo that’s done a pretty good job on kick and punt returns in recent outings.
Both Daniel Wiebe and Johnny Johnson III have had some solid runs over the last couple of games, finally giving Saskatchewan some stability in an area of the game that can flip a field in a hurry.
Wiebe has been especially dynamic, and appeared to have taken one to the house against the Edmonton Elks last week, only for it to be called back due to a penalty.
“Every play I'm trying to score. I didn't end up scoring that one, but I want it back for sure,” said Wiebe, who initially thought the play had been called back because he admittedly stepped out of bounds. “I knew there was a flag when I got back to the sideline, but that's going to happen. You’ve just got to move on to the next play.”
The former University of Saskatchewan Huskies standout has quickly become known for his versatility in the Riders lineup, and that’s something he takes pride in as he works his way through his rookie season.
“That's awesome to hear,” Wiebe said. “At the end of the day, I'm just trying to do whatever I can to help the team. I want to be the best teammate that I can be, and to me, that's just being ready for wherever they need me.”
The return game is almost completely new for Johnson. He had a few special teams opportunities in his final season with the Oregon Ducks, but nothing compared to regular duties with the Riders.
Fortunately, it’s been a comfortable fit.
“I'm feeling it here, I like it,” Johnson said after a practice earlier this week. “It feels good to touch the ball for sure. It's just another opportunity to make a play out there.”
Johnson has raised a few eyebrows with how quickly he’s taken to the return game, but that’s all just part of moving the football the right way in his eyes.
“It's just vision, like not having your head down,” he explained. “It's something I've always done. I played running back when I was younger, so reading kind of gap to gap is not too hard for me. So it's kind of natural. Just football.”
It certainly doesn’t hurt that weeks of special teams practice have helped Johnson get an exceptional feel for what he has to do on any given play.
“I'm just seeing the ball, it gets really quiet,” he said of what it’s like at the moment of a return. “If you feel like it's probably loud, it feels like a big moment, but you take those reps so seriously in practice that it just becomes routine.”
The Rider Broadcast Network pregame show begins at 2 p.m. on Saturday, and Dave Thomas and Luc Mullinder will have the game call from Commonwealth Stadium at 5 p.m.
