By Jamie Nye

Rookies hoping to make an impact for Saskatchewan Roughriders

Jun 16, 2011 | 4:21 PM

Friday's game for the Saskatchewan Roughriders may be the only chance the rookies get to show what they can do in a game, increasing the pressure to catch every ball, make every tackle and be at the right place at the right time.

The team goes in with a lot of training camp battles that appear to be unresolved. The receivers, running backs, quarterbacks, defensive linemen and kickers are the major battles the team would love to see the cream rise to the top on Friday.

“They'll be different coverages thrown at them, they'll be different alignments that they might have to block, or different plays will be run against them so how they react when the lights go on is a big part of the evaluation,” states Head Coach Greg Marshall.

Sisco ready for home debut

Jordan Sisco is one player the Roughriders would love to see make a big impact on Friday. The team is trying to get over the loss of Andy Fantuz and Rob Bagg in the receiving corps and filling one of those two spots with a fellow non-import will be a big boost to how they work around the ratio.

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Friday will the first time Sisco gets to suit up for the team he grew up watching and play under the lights at Mosaic Stadium, “It's a pretty cool opportunity to play in front of my home town and my family and friends, so I'm looking forward to it.”

The problem may be getting by the adrenaline rush when he breaks the huddle for the first time. Sisco knows the nerves may be there on the first play but he should be able to calm down afterwards.

He acknowledges he needs to if he wants to stick on the roster and suit up in the regular season, “(Friday's game) is going to mean a lot to what happens this season for me. If I go out and don't do my job it probably means I won't get much playing time this year.”

Sisco's advantage over most of the rookies is he was around for most of the 2010 season after being released by the Indianapolis Colts. With that extra time he feels a lot better about knowing the plays being called by offensive coordinator Doug Berry.

Nunn makes CFL debut

Another receiver looking for a big first night in front of the Mosaic Stadium crowd is Terrence Nunn. The receiver has NFL experience that he's carried over to his first tryout in the Canadian Football League.

Some of the experience Nunn has gained comes from being around Tom Brady and Randy Moss while with the New England Patriots, “They taught me a lot of different things but basically running routes. They helped me with just coming out of my breaks better, attacking the ball, Tom taught me to always catch the ball so your quarterback trusts you.”

Nunn has been a standout in practice but if he wants to fill another one of the empty receiving spots he needs to carry over his work to game action.

“Every day you have to be prepared. All my coaches have told me you practice like you play so you always have to be sharp mentally and sharp every time you come out here for practice so in the game it's second nature.”

The Roughriders kickoff their preseason on Friday night at Mosaic Stadium against the Edmonton Eskimos. The game starts at 7:00 and will be televised on TSN.

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