Florida Camp Answers Some, Not all 2015 Questions
The anticipation for the Rider mini-camp in Bradenton Florida this past weekend was impressive. Even former Raider play by play announcer and current Rider voice, Rod Pedersen, went down to Florida to air shows live from the camp. It has been a very long off-season.
The camp was an opportunity for the offense to get introduced to the new schemes brought in by new offensive coordinator, Jacques Chapdelaine and see if Darian Durant can still throw a football, while on defense the new recruits were trying to show Rider Head Coach Cory Chamblin why they should be invited to the main camp.
So let’s start with Durant . His elbow is okay and after throwing in one session, he gave a green light for more throwing, indicating the rehab is successful. Durant is happy with the new offense, which is not unusual since he seemed happy with all the previous offensive coordinators and their offenses.
The Riders did a bit of re-jigging with their offense, moving Taj Smith to slot back from wide receiver. That was interesting because Jamal Richardson showed up after a bit of additional knee surgery and was unable to take part in any practices. Richardson would be slotted for outside, but if he is unable to make camp, never mind start, that opens the door for another receiver.