‘Amped up:’ Riders’ Judge relishes first CFL sack

Cameron Judge has made some big hits for the Roughriders this season, but few felt as good as the one he laid on Travis Lulay.

The sophomore Roughrider linebacker collected his first career sack against the B.C. Lions last Saturday night and it felt pretty good.

“The play was written up perfectly,” Judge said, shifting the spotlight to his coach. “I just followed what to do and it opened up perfectly. It was a good feeling.”

Judge isn’t a man of many words – even head coach Chris Jones said so – but he had a few when he was asked what it felt like in the moment.

“I was just excited. I did what I was feeling. We shut ’em down after a big play so I was pretty amped up,” Judge said.

The sack came after 33-yard catch by Lions receiver Chris Rainey. The next play fell incomplete, so a sack was exactly what was needed to stop the Lions drive.

Jones has taken notice of Judge’s talent on the field – even though sometimes he completely misses him off the field.

“He’s one of those guys you never even know he’s on your team. You have to check to make sure he’s on the bus because he never says a word,” Jones joked.

“He’s very instinctual, he’s tremendously athletic,” the head coach added.

Judge’s second season in the CFL is going a lot better than his first. Judge joined the team after training camp so he could complete his college degree at UCLA and he suffered a shoulder injury that shut down his season.

“People immediately start talking bad about you when you have a legitimate injury,” Jones said.

Judge had surgery and came back ready to play in his second CFL season. He rotates in as part of a defensive package the team calls the “eagle” package.

The 23-year-old said coming back from his injury he did feel like he had something to prove, but in the end he’s settled in to where he’s at.

“I feel like all the outside stuff is irrelevant. I’m just trying to get the trust of my teammates, my coaches and do my job. That’s all I’m really worried about,” he said.

“I’m just going to continue to do my job, show ’em they can rely on me and go from there.”