Other CFL Teams' Training Camps

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Here are several key players to watch at the Ottawa Redblacks TC.

http://lastwordonsports.com/2016/05/...players-watch/

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.@Wpg_BlueBombers Watch on #Periscope Coach O'Shea on Day 2 of #Bombers Rookie Camp. https://www.periscope.tv/w/1YpKkjqBMZMxj

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"You've gotta focus on your craft."

🎥 | @Juice7_MTB on getting better every day at camp. #CFLTC #RNationhttps://t.co/Gb7s1AmvUw

— Ottawa REDBLACKS (@REDBLACKS) May 26, 2016

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The Redblacks will face a challenge in defending their

If the Ottawa REDBLACKS want to think about defending their East Division title this November, the long road starts with three days in late May. ...
Most of the team’s 2016 draft picks are now under contract and were present at Wednesday’s first workouts, described by Head Coach Rick Campbell as an energetic first day.
“It’s typical of day one, there are people coming out here and flying around which is a good thing,” said Campbell. “The guys worked hard, we’ve kind of pushed them along on installation and making sure they’re learning stuff in the playbook.” The key, Campbell said, is getting the rookies a head start on install and also getting them up to speed on the CFL game before veterans arrive Sunday. With the short training camp and only two pre-season games, it’s only a matter of time before Ottawa’s season kicks off June 25 in Edmonton.
“What we do is install three days of training camp and when the veterans get here, they’ve already heard it and done it once,” said Campbell.
“I think we owe it to these guys as coaches to get these guys as ready as we can so they can compete with the older guys coming in on the weekend.”

http://www.cfl.ca/2016/05/26/rookie-...reps-td-place/

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"You really start to get a feel for guys."

🎥 | @REDBLACKSHC says rookies continue to impress on day two of #CFLTChttps://t.co/ssoN5CyC5E

— Ottawa REDBLACKS (@REDBLACKS) May 26, 2016

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New Lions QB Greg McGhee is raring to go.

"We're all here for the same goal: to make the team and win a Grey Cup.@Greg_Mcghee2 is jacked for mini-camp 🏈 👊https://t.co/cIisvGCTep

— BC Lions (@BCLions) May 26, 2016

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National draftee Brett Blasko: "I've been looking forward to this day since I started playing football"

"I've been looking forward to this day since I started playing football" 🏈@BrettBlaszko ready for #CFLTC 👊🏽https://t.co/TyDkHc2LUC

— BC Lions (@BCLions) May 26, 2016

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As the Bombers go to TC, here is a review of their DL.

The Bomber defensive line has undergone a significant makeover in the wake of last year’s 5-13 record, jettisoning three popular veterans in Bryant Turner Jr., Zach Anderson and Greg Peach. Turner and Anderson have both found work elsewhere in the CFL – with B.C. and Hamilton, respectively – but one of the club’s offseason objectives was to get bigger, meaner and quicker up front.
And, it’s worth noting here, much nastier against the run. Winnipeg was seventh in rushing yardage against last season, yielding 112.8 yards per game, and ninth the year before at a whopping 135.9.
Two of those new pieces were found the minute the CFL free agent market opened, as the Bombers added Canadian veteran Keith Shologan and import Euclid Cummings, both tackles, to go along with the steady Jake Thomas and Jamaal Westerman, who finished second in the league in sacks with 17.
Shologan, 30, is coming off a year in which he posted a career-high seven sacks, yet it’s not just his passport that made him attractive to the Bombers, but his run-stopping skills and his durability – he has started 114 of the 122 games he dressed for and missed only six due to injury.
Cummings, meanwhile, might just be the best interior lineman in the entire league, although you will get healthy arguments from fans across the league trumpeting their best. Cummings had eight sacks from the tackle position last year with the Toronto Argonauts and flashed an ability to go beast mode and completely dominate play at the line of scrimmage.
The Bombers also feel they landed a pair of intriguing prospects in the CFL Draft, selecting the athletic freak that is Trent Corney with their first pick and then adding a massive man-mountain in Rupert Butcher (6-5, 320) later in the proceedings. They provide the necessary depth for the team to go from starting just one Canadian along the D-line to two.
Now, it’s what happens at the other end spot that figures to be one of the riveting subplots to Bomber camp over the next few weeks. The team has some holdover talent from a year ago in Justin Cole, Nate Collins and Derrell Johnson, and has also been active over the winter in finding pieces like Adrian Hubbard and Emmanuel Dieke – both soaring into the stratosphere at 6-6 – along with Shayon Green, while adding Sam Scott, who had a stint with the Hamilton Tiger-Cats last year.

http://www.bluebombers.com/2016/05/2...efensive-line/

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Another area the Bombers are looking to improve is their OL, starting in TC.

Drew Willy had already taken a season’s worth of hellacious shots last year before his year ended with a leg injury in August.
And before that it was (insert any Bomber quarterback’s name here dating all the way back to the last championship season in 1990) who would often finish each game checking to see if his limbs were still intact and questioning his career choices. ...
Now, while protecting the quarterback is a priority with every football team on the planet, protecting him while working with the Canadian ratio might be one of the most delicate balancing acts in all of sports. After all, 300-plus pound men with quick feet, a nasty streak AND a Canadian passport are as rare as unicorns and white whales.
Three consecutive drafts have given the Bombers two starters in Matthias Goossen and Sukh Chungh, along with potential depth in 2016 selections Michael Couture and Zach Intzandt. Veteran Jeff Keeping, added in free agency, provides a wealth of experience courtesy of 100 career starts across the line.
There are also four big behemoths from down south in rookie camp – all of them 6-3 or taller and north of 300 pounds – to go along with veteran left tackle Stanley Bryant, Jace Daniels – who started nine games last year before an injury cost him his season – and former B.C. Lion/Saskatchewan Roughrider Jermarcus Hardrick.The key piece to all of this might be Patrick Neufeld, who started 11 of the 12 games he dressed for a year ago. Now 27, Neufeld has struggled with injuries since the trade with Saskatchewan for Alex Hall that brought him to Winnipeg. But it’s his ability to play both guard and tackle that could be critical to the Bombers.
If he starts at tackle and stays healthy, the Bombers will use their next best American to Bryant at guard. If he is pegged for the guard spot, then an American will flank the right side of the offensive line, opposite Bryant at left tackle.
All of this is to say that the Bombers have finally stockpiled a variety of pieces, both Canadian and American, that could make the offensive line no longer a revolving door of talent.
And no one could be more thrilled with that development than Drew Willy & Co.

http://www.bluebombers.com/2016/05/2...ffensive-line/

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Stampeders TC on Day 1

A few of the “rookies” were actually players who were with the team last year but played six games or fewer and still qualified for rookie camp. Guys like Dexter Janke, Cameron Ontko and Randy Richards, not to mention ex-Dinos star Andrew Buckley, who is attending his third Stamps camp. ...
Within a week or so, the grind of camp will set in, the legs will get weary and the focus will be either on securing a starting job or a roster spot.
By the numbers: Including CIS development program quarterback Brett Hunchak, a total of 34 rookies took the field on Thursday

http://www.stampeders.com/2016/05/26...p-day-1-recap/

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More on development program QB Brett Hunchuk.

Although Brett Hunchak’s football career is still in its infancy stage, the up-and-coming QB has been doing plenty of learning since first lining up behind centre.
Tabbed as this year’s invitee to Stampeders training camp as part of the CIS-CFL quarterback-development program, the native Calgarian was under the guidance of a familiar face when rookie camp got under way on Thursday morning.
Selected to attend the Dickenson Passing Academy in both his Grade 10 and Grade 11 years while attending Notre Dame high school, Stamps head coach Dave Dickenson has had Hunchak on his radar dating back to 2011.
“It’s definitely good that we have somewhat of a personal relationship,” said Hunchak on participating in the Academy. “I have worked with him on a personal level like that, so it’s just great to (already) be comfortable around him and just talk to him like he’s any other coach. It was just the best time of my life.”
The former Alberta Senior Bowl standout was then named to the U-19 Team Canada squad that travelled down to Texas before making a trip overseas to the nation of Kuwait where the team earned a silver medal at the World Cup.
“It was such a cool experience,” Hunchak uttered. “With some of the coaches that we there, it was just great to learn a lot and play with the best of the best in the country.”

After graduating in 2013, the six-foot-four, 190-lb. pivot spent two years playing for the Calgary Colts of the Canadian Junior Football League. Then, when he decided to make the jump to CIS, Hunchak leaned on the Stamps offensive coordinator-turned-head coach for some words of wisdom.
“We always talked throughout the years and when I was looking to go CIS, he was one of the first guys I talked to,” remarked No. 5.
He ultimately decided to join the York Lions alongside his brother Colton, who he also threw passes to at Notre Dame and again on the international stage. The siblings have both completed one season at York and have four more years of eligibility remaining.
“I wouldn’t have picked any other school,” the signal-caller stated emphatically. “We love it out there and we’re just going to keep working. We’re definitely learning lots out there and we’re in a transition with a young team, so in the upcoming years we’ll be just fine, I’m sure.”
Hunchak now finds himself following in the footsteps of Andrew Buckley, who was selected as the collegiate quarterback to come to camp with the Red and White back in 2014. The following year, Buckley was drafted by the Stampeders and is now battling for a roster spot. Thursday’s rookie camp saw Hunchak and Buckley sharing the field in addition to veterans Bryant Moniz and Drew Tate, on hand to encourage the next crop of quarterbacks.

http://www.stampeders.com/2016/05/26...along-the-way/

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Head coach Dave Dickenson talks to the media after the first practice of 2016 rookie camp.

http://www.stampeders.com/2016/05/26/dave-dickenson-post-practice-may-26/

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At the Calgary TC, Pierre-Luc Caron and Tim St. Pierre are fighting it out for the long-snapper position.

Pierre-Luc Caron is the opposite of his predecessor, as well as his competition.
Literally.
After officially moving on from longtime veteran Randy Chevrier in the off-season, it was no secret the Calgary Stampeders were searching for a permanent long-snapping solution.
They hope they’ve found one in Caron, who they plucked in the fifth round (42nd overall) in the 2016 CFL Draft earlier this month.
While there are many nuanced differences between every player that dabbles with the unique skill, the one fundamental deviation between Caron and Tim St. Pierre, the 30-year-old veteran he’ll be battling when main training camp opens Sunday, is the fact they spin the football with different hands.
Caron, contrary to the other two men, is a lefty.
“I don’t think it’s that much of a difference, you’ve just got to get used to it,” said Caron, who spent the majority of his college days snapping the football to current Montreal Alouettes kicker/punter Boris Bede with the Laval Rouge et Or. “For sure, if you have a right-handed long-snapper and the rep right after it you have a left-handed long-snapper, for sure, it’s harder. Once you know I’m a lefty, I think, it’s easy to catch the ball.”
One of the reasons the Stamps decided to part ways with the soon-to-be 40-year-old Chevrier was the fact he brought very little to any other area of the roster.
The Stamps believe they’ve solved that problem with the 22-year-old Caron.
“Athletically, when you looked at him in the Montreal regional (combine) in the linebacker drills, he didn’t look out of place,” Stamps special-teams co-ordinator Mark Kilam said of the 6-foot-2, 220-pounder. “He’s athletic, he can move around, and I like the fact he’s been a starter there for a little while. He’s a great cover player and he’s big enough to block.”

http://www.montrealgazette.com/sport...209/story.html

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Redblack DL Matt Acree discusses acclimating to the CFL and being ready to compete in TC.

http://www.ottawaredblacks.com/2016/...ve-to-compete/

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The Bombers are excited about the addition of Andrew Harris and looking forward to seeing him in action in training camp and the regular season. They are also high on National RB Pascal Lochard from the BC Lions

First and foremost, Harris was added because he is a dangerous threat out of the backfield, both as a ball carrier and a receiver. And for a Bomber offence that is looking for as many weapons as it can get to surround quarterback Drew Willy, Harris packs a heavy wallop.
A two-time CFL All-Star in 2012 and 2015, Harris was just 20 yards short of winning the league rushing title, finishing just behind Montreal’s Tyrell Sutton with 1,039 yards along the ground and seven touchdowns while adding another 53 catches for 484 yards and two more scores. And it’s those numbers as a receiver – averaging 59 receptions a season over the past four years – that could make Harris such an intriguing and dangerous part of Paul LaPolice’s new offence. ...
The club could use some stability at the position too, as both Cameron Marshall and Paris Cotton – one and two in rushing for the Bombers a year ago – are gone. As well, the Bombers have gone four straight seasons with a different running back leading them in rushing yardage (Chad Simpson in 2012, Will Ford in 2013, Nic Grigsby in 2014 and Marshall last year).
Now, lost in the hype of the Harris signing this winter – and it was considerable – was the quiet addition of another ex-Lions ball carrier, Pascal Lochard. The Bombers were big on the Laval bruiser during his draft year in 2014 and he’s dropped 15 pounds this winter to be ready if needed as a back up to Harris and not simply as a blocking back.
Two imports are currently wrapping up rookie camp with the Bombers in Carlos Anderson, the diminutive speedster who almost made the team last year as a returner before wrecking his knee, and Tim Flanders, who set 34 records at Sam Houston State before getting a look from both the B.C. Lions and Calgary Stampeders.
But with the Bombers going homegrown in the backfield and stacked with return candidates like Quincy McDuffie, Solomon Patton and Justin Veltung – who handled some of the return chores last year – landing a gig on the roster, let alone as the starting tailback, is putting the ‘long’ in long shot.

http://www.bluebombers.com/2016/05/2...running-backs/

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Training camp primer: A team by team look

http://www.cfl.ca/2016/05/27/trainin...-by-team-look/

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Here's a review of the Eskimos as they enter training camp.

Let’s look at the mechanics of Edmonton’s offence, defence and special teams as it stands heading into training camp:
OFFENCE
Reilly returned from missing nine games with a knee injury to steer the Eskimos offence straight down victory lane. Double his numbers and he would have sat second in the CFL in both passing yards and touchdowns in 2015.
A big reason for last year’s success was the big men in front of him and the improvements made week after week along the offensive line. And the starting squad is set to return again this year. Left tackle Tony Washington, left guard Simeon Rottier, centre Justin Sorensen, right guard Matt O’Donnell and right tackle D’Anthony Batiste — the team nominee for most outstanding offensive lineman — have a chance. Canadian backups Andrew Jones, who joined the Saskatchewan Roughriders, and Brian Ramsay, who retired after 10 years to become executive director of the CFLPA, are the only deletions to a crew that has earned the utmost confidence from management, so much so that the Eskimos didn’t even bother drafting an o-linemen this year.
While everyone expected slotback Adarius Bowman to lead the charge and challenge for the CFL’s top receiving title once again, no one could have predicted the emergence of Derel Walker. The 2015 CFL most outstanding rookie joined Bowman among the top five in the league with 1,110 receiving yards despite spending the first third of the season on the Eskimos practice roster. It wasn’t until Bowman suffered a minor injury that Walker got his shot. And while the two are set to wreak havoc on opposing secondaries again this season, we can’t help but wonder who else they have hiding back stage. Their biggest loss on offence was seeing 2015 Grey Cup Canadian MVP wide receiver Shamawd Chambers follow his coaches to Regina in free agency. But GM Ed Hervey took his pound of flesh back across the provincial border in the form of veteran receiver Chris Getzlaf. ...
The Eskimos haven’t given up on White. Far from it. After all, he averaged 6.9 yards a carry in 2014 and was a lock to start again in 2015 until injury ended his season before it could even begin. This year, he will have to not only show that he has made a full recovery, but prove himself all over again to a new coaching staff. Meanwhile,
Bell showed he can be an adept — if not more compact — clone, averaging 5.6 yards a carry last year. But had injury challenges of his own. Towering over the group but still coming in at under six feet, Shavers enters his first Eskimos training camp as their starting running back in the Grey Cup, despite having been a late-season addition. McKnight is fresh off their Florida mini-camp looking to get his career back on track, having played three years in the National Football League with the New York Jets before finding himself entirely out of football for two of the past three years. The job is there for the taking for whoever wants it most, but the real winner out of this most impressive competition will be the team itself.
DEFENCE ...
Under former head coach and defensive co-ordinator Chris Jones, last year’s group led the league in allowing just under 19 points per game — which is the proverbial pot of gold in every CFL defensive co-ordinator’s dreams.
But the Eskimos were more of a nightmare for opposing offences, only made faster and more aggressive by early season injuries to key teammates on offence. The Bermuda Triangle of Almondo Sewell, Odell Willis and Marcus Howard returns to a defensive line adept at making downs disappear into thin air.
The defence was hardest hit by free agency, and not to other CFL teams, either. An unprecedented off-season saw three players join NFL clubs, with defensive end Willie Jefferson joining the Washington Redskins and standout defensive halfback Aaron Grymes going to the Philadelphia Eagles. But it’s WIL linebacker Dexter McCoil’s departure to the San Diego Chargers that represents the biggest void, as the Eskimos have to somehow fill the gap left behind by the 2014 CFL most outstanding rookie.
Fortunately, it appears they may have the answer in-house in the form of Deon Lacey.
The special-teams standout earned every opportunity afforded him on defence, filling in in a rotational capacity at defensive end or spelling off the linebackers. And when his time came, he didn’t shy away from the spotlight, either — as in the eyes of opposing quarterbacks during some of the more memorable moments in coin-toss history.
But if the eyes are a window into the soul, there is no questioning the drive or intensity of Lacey, who previous coaches said would run through a brick wall for his team and earned an impressive six sacks last year, despite only being involved in rotational duties. And don’t forget about Korey Jones, either.
The secondary, however, has become the primary concern in training camp as the Eskimos have to not only replace the speedy Grymes, but also find a solution for SAM linebacker Otha Foster’s defection across the Straw Curtain. That opens the door for the likes of Deion Belue and Kacy Rodgers, who will look to come off the practice squad like cornerback John Ojo did last year, on his way to becoming a CFL most-outstanding-rookie contender. ...
The emergence of a maturing six-foot-three, 220-pound Mike Dubuisson could end up giving the Eskimos an intriguing ratio option in the secondary as he gets set to enter his third CFL season. The Windsor product has shown an ability to play at either safety or defensive halfback. But for now, the lone Canadian-designated position is at safety. And that means there is a host of national talent looking to make sure incumbent starter Cauchy Muamba’s training camp is a competitive one. The seven-year vet will be up for the task, no doubt, after taking over the starting role from an injured Ryan Hinds and holding onto it after Hinds was healthy again. Hinds is now in Ottawa, while Muamba — whose younger brother and former first-overall draft pick, Henoc Muamba, could still potentially end up joining him in Edmonton this season — is coming off a solid Grey Cup start against the Redblacks.
SPECIAL TEAMS ...
The Eskimos have brought in former NFL speedsters Jacoby Ford and Joe McKnight into the mix this off-season, testing both out in Florida last month during mini-camp.
While Ford, a receiver/returner, ran a sub-4.2 second 40-yard dash ahead of getting drafted in the fourth round (108th overall) by the Oakland Raiders in 2010, it’s McKnight who better fits Lawrence’s jack-of-all-trades mould as running back/slotback/returner. And the 4.4-40 speed of the former New York Jets draft pick — who went four spots after Ford that same year — is nothing to shrug off, either.
Long-snapper Ryan King, who is being reunited on the roster with younger brother Neil, is back for a fifth season with his hometown Eskimos, who traded away the rights to fellow long-snapper Jorgen Hus to Saskatchewan last year.
Sean Whyte, who kicked his way into the hearts of Eskimos fans in relief of an injured Grant Shaw on the way to the Grey Cup, will handle place-kicking duties once again, while a healthy Shaw is set to punt and, likely, kick off.
With Deon Lacey likely taking more of a defensive role and spending less time on special teams, the Eskimos coverage teams are losing the services of the club record holder who posted 29 special-teams tackles in a season. At the same time, the free-agent acquisition of veteran Toronto Argonauts fullback Zander Robinson — who missed last season due to a knee injury in training camp — means the addition of a six-foot-five, 241-pound body on special teams.

http://edmontonjournal.com/sports/fo...g-ball-rolling

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Potential #Bombers kick returner Solomon Patton has been moved to the retired list. Team is still two players above max.

— Kirk Penton (@PentonKirk) May 27, 2016

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Mario Urrutia is not only a player at the Bombers TC, he was recently a football team owner.

Yes, the 6-foot-5, 232-pound receiver out of the University of Louisville was recently a co-owner — and receiver — with a Continental Indoor Football League franchise called the Kentucky Xtreme. Owning part of a team while playing for it is not something every 28-year-old football player does.
“Why not? I gotta have something after football, so I decided to branch off, get a little taste of the business world,” Urrutia said Monday. “It’s interesting. I’m learning a lot, but it’s fun.”
The Xtreme is no longer a concern, as its operations were suspended last month, but Urrutia has already moved on to another project. He said he will be the sole owner of the Professional Indoor Football League’s Louisville Firebirds, who are scheduled to begin play next season.
In the meantime, Urrutia has signed a contract with the Winnipeg Blue Bombers, who are conducting a three-day mini-camp at IMG Academy, and he is expected to be at main camp in June. Urrutia missed the first day of the mini-camp on Sunday because he was attending Louisville and Winnipeg teammate Brian Brohm’s wedding, but the big man made a couple of spectacular grabs on Monday afternoon to get the attention of the Bombers coaching staff.
Glancing at the CIFL and PIFL websites, it’s clear they aren’t the most stable of football leagues. The Xtreme suspended operations on March 26, and there is no mention of the Louisville Firebirds on the PIFL site. That being said, it sounds like Urrutia is treating football ownership like a life-learning experience.
“I’m just taking a risk. Get out there. Why not?” Urrutia said. “You just gotta be fearless. I was interested. I was curious in doing other things, and the opportunity came about playing indoor ball. I stuck my neck out there and took a chance.”
He might not have a lot of time to get the Firebirds off the ground if he cracks the Bombers roster. Winnipeg would love a tall, fast receiver who can go up and get the ball to replace 2012 CFL rookie of the year Chris Matthews, who signed in the off-season with the Super Bowl champion Seattle Seahawks. Urrutia, who has tried out and played for teams in the NFL and UFL, and was the Arena Football League’s rookie of the year last year with the Utah Blaze, has the tools to at least give it a shot.
“He’s a big, physical receiver,” Brohm said. “He’s got good hands, and he can go deep. He’s a big play type of receiver. His 40 isn’t as fast on the track as it is on the field. Once he has the ball in his hands, he’s fast and he’s hard to catch. In college, we hooked up for a lot of big plays.”
That sounds a lot like Matthews.
If Urrutia doesn’t crack Winnipeg’s roster he can always go to his fall-back job of being an owner, worrying over the results that happen on the field and the bills that arrive in the mail. He said being an owner has “most definitely” changed his perspective as a football player.

http://www.torontosun.com/2014/04/14...ball-ownership

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This article reviews each team's situation as TCs open.

http://www.cbc.ca/sports/football/cf...2016-1.3602329