‘This is my dream job’: Global players vying for spot with Riders

Max Zimmermann wasn’t going to let anything stop him from playing professional football — not even his job back home in Germany.

“This is my dream job,” Zimmermann said Thursday at Mosaic Stadium. “I didn’t let this thing go and now I’m here.”

But it wasn’t without any sacrifice. The wide receiver left his job as a teacher and flew more than 7,000 kilometres for a chance to compete for a job with the Saskatchewan Roughriders.

Germany’s Max Zimmermann is trying to crack the Saskatchewan Roughriders’ roster during rookie camp on May 16, 2019. (Britton Gray/980 CJME)

“I’ve never made a secret out of playing professional football so (friends, family and employers) were never surprised because they knew from the beginning if there was a chance for me to go anywhere else and play professional football, I’m going to take it wherever,” Zimmermann said after Day 1 of the Roughriders’ rookie camp.

His love for the sport began back in 2013 after he found a few videos of it online. That interest quickly turned into a passion after he put on the shoulder pads.

“I went to the first practice and fell in love with it the first day,” he said.

Zimmermann, who hails from Berlin, was given the opportunity in North America as a part of the CFL 2.0 strategy. It has focused on bringing players from Europe and Mexico to the Canadian game.

“It’s a life-changing opportunity,” he said. “If you love the game of football, this is the ultimate place to be to develop as a player and as a person and I’m really grateful to be here.”

It’s not going to be an easy adjustment for the former German Football League wide receiver.

“It’s a bigger field,” he said. “It’s kind of like a different game than we play in Europe and it’s new language, new culture (and) new guys but I’m just trying to have fun here, enjoy the time here and soak everything in.”

Zimmermann is joined by Mexico’s Rene Brassea, Javier Garcia and Sebastien Olvera as the players who put on the most miles to get to the Riders’ rookie camp.

Zimmermann was taken in the first round (sixth overall) of the European draft. Brassea (first round, sixth overall), Olvera (second round, 15th overall) and Garcia (third round, 24th overall) were selected in the CFL’s draft of Mexican-based players.

Brassea’s football dream actually started in futbol.

“I was too big. I used to play futbol. I played for one year but they just used me for penalty kicks,” the offensive lineman said of his time in soccer.

After soccer, he tried swimming and then basketball. After moving to California for high school, Brassea eventually found his way onto the gridiron.

From there he played college in Mexico, played in a summer arena league in the U.S., then went back to Mexico to play in the Liga de Fútbol Americano Profesional before finding his way to Canada.

He hopes to become an inspiration for young Mexican football players by finding success in the CFL.

“There’s several Mexican players that have tried to play in the U.S. and even in Canada but I want to be on the first team — I want to play,” he said. “I want to prove that we Mexican players can play this kind of level.”

The biggest difference Brassea has noticed in the Canadian game is how big the other players are, as well as the technique they use.

“There’s better coaching,” he said. “They coach you very little details about technique so that’s the main difference.”

Head coach Craig Dickenson believes rookie camp is a great opportunity to get the rookies up to speed on the Canadian game, learn the coaching style and get used to the system.

Dickenson said he never really noticed the global players out on the field — but that’s not a bad thing.

“The nice thing is at times I wasn’t sure who was who so I thought they fit in fairly well,” Dickenson said. “They didn’t stand out where we knew who the global players were on every rep but the receiver (Olvera) came up to me afterwards and I asked him, ‘Is this much different from the football you play down south?’ And he said, ‘Not very much,’ and then he said, ‘I’m planning on staying here, Coach.’ ”

Top picks not present at camp

While dozens of players were in attendance at rookie camp, a few notable first-years were not.

Receivers Justin McInnis and Brayden Lenius — the Roughriders’ first two picks in the 2019 CFL draft — were not at camp. Dickenson said it was a travel issue because the team only signed them Wednesday.

Offensive lineman Dakoda Shepley, Saskatchewan’s first-round pick in 2018, also was not present as the team began workouts.

Only two quarterbacks — Isaac Harker and University of Manitoba pivot Des Catellier — were throwing passes at rookie camp. Veterans Zach Collaros, Cody Fajardo and David Watford did not throw.

Collaros drew the ire of Rider fans last season, when he threw only nine touchdown passes against 13 interceptions. But Dickenson isn’t worried about Collaros’ down year.

“We’re going to work with him and do what he does best,” Dickenson said. “Maybe that changes throughout the course of the season, maybe that’s something we know right from the get-go but we will sit in there and make sure that he feels comfortable with the offence.

“Being that it’s his second year in the same system I think you’re going to see a lot of improvement.”

All of the QBs are expected to be at main camp when it starts Sunday in Saskatoon.