Britton Gray: Battles about to begin at Riders training camp

Opinion

Training camp is one of my favourite times of the year.

It’s when every CFL team feels like it has a shot at hoisting the Grey Cup at the end of the season and it’s up to the coaches to figure out what their best lineup will look like.

It also shines a spotlight on the positional battles the team will need to address if it hopes to improve.

After a 6-12 season last year, there are a lot more questions heading into this camp for the Saskatchewan Roughriders than maybe the team would want.

The entire offensive line will need to battle for spots after a 2022 season that saw Riders quarterbacks sacked 77 times and under pressure countless more times.

The only person who might have a job locked down heading into camp this year is Peter Godber. He’s a proven starter in the league and the Riders went out and seemed to name him the heir apparent to Dan Clark by signing him in free agency.

Philip Blake is also expected to start somewhere on the O-line. The Riders made the 37-year-old one of the highest-paid offensive linemen in the league this off-season and he has been a valuable starter wherever he has been.

All other players will need to prove they can improve pass protection. Logan Ferland, Evan Johnson, and Kooper Richardson — the three returning players who started at the end of the season — need to prove they’re better than the bevy of linemen the team brought in this off-season after the protection issues from last season.

Another position I am intrigued by is the safety spot. The Riders have moved on from Mike Edem and I would think they would want to keep a Canadian at that position.

Jayden Dalke was very impressive every time he took the field in his rookie season and he was given the starter spot for the final game of the team’s campaign.

Nelson Lokombo was a highly rated prospect in 2021 — Saskatchewan took him second overall — but it seems like he just hasn’t found his speed since he suffered a torn Achilles a day before 2021 camp.

Then there’s rookie Jaxon Ford, the Riders’ second-round pick from this past draft. He was a productive player for the University of Regina Rams and if he doesn’t earn a starting spot, I feel like he will be a special-teams contributor all season long for the Riders.

And then there’s the QB spot. No, not the starting job — that’s clearly Trevor Harris’ this season — but who will be his primary backup.

Mason Fine was in that role last season, but I’m not sure we saw enough the last two games of last season to deem his spot safe.

Jake Dolegala remains an interesting prospect. He showed off his strong arm in camp last year and I would like to see what he could do given a full week of practice with a healthy team around him. His one start last year came in a game in which much of the team was missing due to a COVID outbreak.

Levi Lewis is also an interesting prospect at camp this year. He is Louisiana-Lafayette’s all-time leader in passing touchdowns and can also cause a lot of damage on the ground as a dual threat.

So for many Rider hopefuls, all roads lead to Saskatoon for what should be an interesting month.