On Thursday, the Saskatchewan Roughriders were back out on the turf for day two of rookie camp. More than half of the workout was spent refining offensive and defensive systems.
On the offensive side of the ball, a great deal of time was spent on pre-snap movement, fast initial movement after the snap of the ball, and reading what the defence was giving players.
American receiver Wayne Ruby Jr. caught several passes and learned the art of blocking from the slot receiver position.
“Man, it's treacherous down there by that D-line, but going forward I'm ready to work. Whatever I have to do, blocking, doing my job, I'm willing to do.”
His work has caught the eye of head coach Corey Mace.
“I think for him and even Ty James, coming in for the first time, seeing how fluid they are in their routes and how they understand the waggle, they are sure-handed guys that I thought stood out yesterday. We'll tackle the tape and see what happened today. Hopefully, they took another step, but I've been very impressed with those two.
At the other end of the field, defensive alignment was the primary focus of the morning, with a lot of attention being placed on pre-snap reads and making the appropriate adjustments to the offence's presentation. Additionally, there was added emphasis on the defensive line getting to the quarterback and on defensive backs improving communication.
Other notes from Thursday’s workout:
- Receiver Jayden Horace did not take part in the practice. He left Wednesday’s session on a cart and was seen using a hand cart around the field.
- Running back Trent Pennix ran the ball the most in the team sessions.
- Antoine Brooks Jr. was moved around the defence from DB to LB positions within the group.
Action resumes on the University of Saskatchewan campus Friday morning for the final on-field session of rookie camp.
Saskatchewan Roughriders rookie camp roster:
No. Name Position No. Name Position
7 Trevor Harris* QB 62 Nick Jones* OL
9 Jake Maier* QB 65 Daniel Johnson OL
10 Leon Jones* DB 69 Jahmir Ross-Johnson* OL
13 Anton Amundrud QB 70 Richard Aduboffour DB
14 Jack Coan* QB 71 Ben Hadley K
16 Michael Hiers* QB 71 Gideon Agyei # DB
16 Eddie Heckard* DB 7 2 Kolade Amusan DL
17 Tommy Stevens* QB 74 Liam Hoskins # LB
17 Phalen Sanford* DB 75 Jayden Horace* WR
24 Trent Pennix* RB 75 Dalton Urban (jr.) DB
24 Nicario Harper* DB 76 Joe Couch^ P
27 Khalan Laborn* RB 76 Johnathon Stevens (jr.) DL
27 Tyrique McGhee* DB 77 Brayden Misseri WR
29 Mario Anderson* RB 77 Zack Philion LB
29 Alfahiym Walcott* DB 79 Octavious Oxendine* DL
30 Mark Webb* DB 80 Wayne Ruby Jr.* WR
33 Drae McCray* WR 82 Joe Robustelli* WR
33 Antoine Brooks Jr.* DB 85 D'Sean Mimbs WR
37 Robert Javier* DB 86 Ty James* WR
39 Morgen Runge FB 87 Daniel Wiebe # WR
39 Braxton Hill* LB 90 Jordan Smith* DL
50 Jake Levengood* OL 91 Aaron Patrick* DL
50 Seth Hundeby # LB 94 Eric Black* DL
54 Julius Buelow* OL 97 Justin Jefferson* DL
59 Kendy Charles* DL 98 Alex Gubner* DL
60 Payton Collins* OL 00 Natan Girouard-Langlois FB
