Riders Rookie Camp begins

By Greg Urbanoski

After a long off-season the Saskatchewan Roughriders begin today their efforts to climb out of an embarrassing 5-13 with the opening of rookie camp at the University of Regina.

To further goose things along, the Riders have signed Renaldo Sagasse, a fourth round pick of Montreal in the 2011 game who was a defensive tackle at the University of Michigan. Sagasse came into Montreal’s camp last year, some say waddled and got cut. After a year out of football, maybe Sagasse has picked up how important it is to be in shape for football, and if he has, then the Riders may get some welcome Canadian depth along the defensive line behind Keith Shologan.

The Riders will be tossing the dice on Miguel Obede, the former Calgary Stampeder who went over to Montreal, but has a history of injuries that make this an iffy project. On the up side, Obede can add further Canadian depth, and if he can get through 2012 injury free, the Riders defensive line vastly improved.

The Rider rookies had their camp moved to Thursday from Wednesday because with the number of players coming in, it was not possible to get all the medicals done. There will be some no-shows in rookie camp as Ismael Bamba, a receiver from Laval the Riders drafted, has decided to return to Laval for the upcoming season.

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Bamba might have been an excellent addition, but it seems the Canadian university teams like Laval and Calgary, who are heavily funded by alumni and business, want another run to the Vanier Cup. Bamba may be joined by Sam Hurl, the Calgary linebacker drafted by the Riders, who has not as yet signed and may return to Calgary for his last season. The decision by Hurl makes the Riders interest in having a Canadian middle linebacker, with sufficient depth and with special teams help, more interesting to figure out.

Ben Heenan, the number one pick, is expected to have signed with the Riders. Heenan will not walk into a starting position unless there is an amazing rash of injuries, which will help Heenan learn the trade at the pro level, and allow the Riders to adjust their offensive line to better reflect the strengths of their players. Moving Heenan to the outside of the offensive line would be a year-long experiment the Riders could indulge in safely during practices and the prospect of a four Canadian offensive line next year would be a big step forward.

Odell Willis will be in camp, having his sentencing moved to next month while completing community service and a program. Having Willis in camp will allow the Riders to quickly assemble the pieces of their defensive line, seeing if Brent Hawkins is fully recovered and more importantly, able to handle the physical rigor of a training camp and season. The defensive line will be one of the more interesting competitions to watch at camp, mostly to see how well the Riders recruited.

The Riders also announced their guest coaches, with Cheston Blackshear, a coach at the University of New Mexico, who will be working with offensive line coach Kris Sweet. Jeff Cummins, head coach at Acadia University will be working with Mike Walker on the defensive line. Richard Kent of the UFL Omaha Nighthawks will be working with special teams and linebackers. Ben Norton, formerly of the Hartford Colonials will be working with offensive coordinator Bob Dyce and Kris Sweet. Jamie Stoddard, who you may remember from the Winnipeg Blue Bombers and is now coaching the UBC receivers, will be working with Jason Tucker and the Rider receivers. Ted White, a quarterback with stops with the Jacksonville Jaquars, Kansas City Chiefs and Tampa Bay Buccaneers, who also has a stint as a back-up in Montreal, will be helping out with the quarterbacks.

Tom Petty once said, the waiting is the hardest part…and Rider fans, the waiting is finally over.