The Saskatchewan Roughriders worked under the sun and against the wind at training camp on Tuesday.
The Riders exhibited a great deal of tempo, pace and execution as they flowed from drill to drill, even ending practice early.
Head Coach Corey Mace liked what he saw, but is still looking for more.
“We’ve been very straightforward from the first day of camp that every group is in competition. There are still some very tight battles at multiple groups. We have guys out there that are competing their tails off to get those spots.”
The emphasis on day 15 was team play as numerous sessions pitted the offence against the defence.
There were a number of noteworthy plays turned in. Early in the session, C.J. Avery stepped in front of the receiver running through the middle of the formation. The ball hit Avery in the chest and he squeezed the ball then headed for the end zone.
Later, Thomas Bertrand-Hudon ran a similar shallow route. This time, Trevor Harris would add some zip to the pass and hit Bertrand-Hudon in stride, which allowed him to follow his blockers to the end zone.
The teams took a break to enter into one-on-one drills. Some fierce battles ensued inside the north end zone. However, garnering the largest cheer was defensive lineman Micah Johnson, who broke free to get to the quarterback.
The players were then divided into positional groups. The most intriguing instruction was on the offensive line, where Rider legend Gene Makowsky worked with Logan Ferland, Zack Fry and Nick Jones on snapping the ball and their blocking technique from the centre position.
The teams would then return to an offence vs. defence period, where the offence started strong. Dohnte Meyers broke free from his defender in a man-on-man drill and looked to have a touchdown. However, the ball took off in the wind from the arm of Harris and sailed over Meyers' head, falling incomplete. Moments later, the two would execute the play on the opposite side of the field with Meyers hauling in the pass for the major.
When it was Jack Coan’s opportunity to work with the offence against the number one defence, he faced relentless pressure. When he was able to get the ball, he would throw a pair of interceptions. DaMarcus Fields would catch an errant Coan pass in the end zone to the delight of his teammates.
Moments later, sixth-round draft pick Gideon Agyei stepped in front of a Coan pass in the middle of the field and was escorted into the end zone by his teammates.
On special teams, punters Joe Couch and Bailey Flint were kicking the ball throughout the workout in both team and non-team drills.
Brett Lauther came out onto the field early, kicking field goals and was nearly flawless from both hashmarks as far away as 45 yards.
Not on the field today:
OL – Erik Andersen
DL – Charbel Dabire
DB – Nelson Lokombo
DL – Alex Gubner
LB – Jameer Thurman
DL – Shane Ray
The Saskatchewan Roughriders will hold their final full training camp practice on Wednesday before Thursday’s walk-thru and Friday’s game against Winnipeg.