Tailback, defensive back positions to watch as Riders prepare for training camp

The pieces of the puzzle are about to start forming for the 2022 Saskatchewan Roughriders.

Training camp is scheduled to get underway Sunday at Griffiths Stadium in Saskatoon, assuming the CFL and the CFL Players’ Association avoid a work stoppage.

General manager Jeremy O’Day will be looking to replicate the same success the Riders had in 2013 when they last hosted the Grey Cup. O’Day was the assistant general manager for that team that won it all.

“I’ll take the same outcome. It’s a long time ago — we’re talking about nine or 10 years ago. I think the key for us in 2013 was that we were playing our best football in the playoffs,” said O’Day, whose CFL team is to play host to the 2022 Grey Cup on Nov. 20.

“Just like any championship team, it’s about the guys in the locker room and the camaraderie we had.”

While a number of spots on the team are already filled with returning veterans, there could be some new faces in starting roles when it comes to running back and the defensive backfield.

Quarterbacks

On the roster (in alphabetical order): Jake Dolegala, Cody Fajardo, Mason Fine, Troy Williams.

Cody Fajardo comes into the 2022 season as the team’s undisputed No. 1 option at the quarterback position. The 30-year-old quarterback will look to bounce back after a disappointing season in 2021.

Quarterback Cody Fajardo. (File photo courtesy of the Saskatchewan Roughriders)

Last season, he threw for 2,970 yards, 14 touchdowns and 11 interceptions in 13 games. He also rushed for 468 yards and four touchdowns.

He will be looking to return to his form of 2019, when he threw for 4,302 yards, 18 touchdowns and eight interceptions and tacked on 611 rushing yards and 10 touchdowns en route to being named the CFL West Division’s most outstanding player.

Despite the down year from Fajardo and the offence, the Riders still finished 9-5 in 2021 and went to a second consecutive West final.

Mason Fine will come into camp as the backup after beating out Isaac Harker late in the 2021 season. Harker signed with the B.C. Lions in the off-season. Fine dressed for only the regular-season finale in Hamilton against the Tiger-Cats and completed five of nine pass attempts for 64 yards. He then dressed for the two playoff games as Fajardo’s backup.

Troy Williams, who was signed Tuesday, brings some more limited CFL experience to training camp; he spent 2019 and 2021 with the Edmonton Elks. During those two years, he only appeared in a couple games, completing one pass for 15 yards and rushing 11 times for 26 yards.

Jake Dolegala makes his CFL training camp debut. Dolegala signed with the NFL’s Cincinnati Bengals in 2019 as an undrafted free agent. After spending 2019 with the Bengals, Dolegala jumped around the NFL, spending time with the New England Patriots, Green Bay Packers and Miami Dolphins.

Dolegala attended Central Connecticut State University, where he played in 44 games as a Blue Devil. He completed 654 passes for 8,129 yards, 48 touchdowns and 24 interceptions and added an additional 452 yards rushing and 18 touchdowns.

Tailbacks/Fullbacks

On the roster (in alphabetical order): Albert Awachie, Shaquille Cooper, Frankie Hickson, Kienan LaFrance, Jamal Morrow, Troymaine Pope, James Tuck.

The role as the Roughriders’ starting running back could be a wide-open competition after the departure of William Powell, who signed with the Ottawa Redblacks.

“That’s the spot where we need to have some clarity,” head coach Craig Dickenson said.

Jamal Morrow could have the inside track to the job, having been with the Roughriders in 2019 and 2021. He served primarily as a return man in 2021 but started at running back for the final regular-season game, rushing nine times for 41 yards. He also caught three passes for 29 yards in the game.

Kienan LaFrance comes in as the veteran of the group, entering his seventh CFL season. The Winnipeg product rushed seven times for 43 yards and added eight catches for 69 yards in 14 games in 2021.

Tailback Kienan LaFrance. (File photo courtesy of the Saskatchewan Roughriders)

The Riders brought in another veteran, signing Shaq Cooper in the off-season. Cooper played two years in Edmonton and then split the 2021 season between the Lions and Winnipeg Blue Bombers.

In 14 career games, Cooper has rushed the ball 123 times for 638 yards and three touchdowns. In 2021, he appeared in five games for the Lions, recording 33 carries for 142 yards and a touchdown. He appeared twice with Winnipeg and was used as a return man.

Frankie Hickson played five seasons at Liberty, recording 610 carries for 2,898 yards and 30 touchdowns.

Troymaine Pope played three seasons at Jacksonville State, rushing 486 times for 3,130 yards and 33 touchdowns. He spent six seasons in the NFL, most notably with the Seattle Seahawks and Los Angeles Chargers.

At fullback, Albert Awachie and James Tuck will battle it out for the spot. Awachie has spent the past four seasons with the Riders, mostly contributing as a special-teams player.

Tuck signed with Saskatchewan in the off-season. This will be Tuck’s seventh CFL season.

Receivers

On the roster (in alphabetical order): Riley Boersma, Jamal Custis, Shaq Evans, Jake Harty, Jeremiah Haydel, Johnathon Johnson, Tevin Jones, Wesley Lewis, Justin McInnis, Paul McRoberts, Kyran Moore, Mitchell Picton, Jakob Prall, Kian Schaffer-Baker, Xavier Ubosi, Jester Weah, Duke Williams.

The Riders come into the season with most of their receiving corps back from the 2021 season.

Dickenson said one of the things he will be looking for in camp is how the receivers and Fajardo develop throughout it.

“I think getting Duke (Williams) back is huge and we’ve got some nice pieces out there with (Kian) Schaffer-Baker and (Justin) McInnis is back in the mix,” Dickenson said.

Slotback Duke Williams. (File photo courtesy of the Saskatchewan Roughriders)

“It will be interesting to see the dynamic between the quarterback and the receivers — with a full training camp and two pre-season games and a second year in (offensive co-ordinator Jason Maas’) system.”

Williams made his mark in a short period of time in 2021. He played in only four regular-season games with the team but became a go-to target for Fajardo.

Williams caught 17 passes for 285 yards and a touchdown in the regular season, added five catches for 55 yards in the West semifinal and then had four catches for 108 yards and a touchdown in the West final. Williams, who was set to become a free agent, elected to re-sign with the Riders.

Much like his quarterback, Shaq Evans will try to put 2021 behind him and try to recapture the magic of 2019. That year, Evans caught 72 passes for 1,334 yards and five touchdowns. In 2021, Evans appeared in just seven games due to a broken foot.

During the season, he caught 25 passes for 224 yards and no touchdowns. In two playoff games, Evans caught one pass for minus-four yards.

Schaffer-Baker will look to improve on an impressive rookie campaign in his second CFL season. The national receiver played in 12 games for the team and caught 47 passes for 563 yards and two touchdowns in 2021.

Paul McRoberts could find himself in the starting lineup while slotback Kyran Moore recovers from a torn ACL suffered Oct. 30.

McRoberts, who caught four passes for 42 yards in Week 3 of the 2021 season, was placed back onto the practice roster in favour of Ricardo Louis.

In the final game of the season, Louis suffered a torn Achilles and McRoberts found himself starting in the two playoff games, catching six passes for 50 yards. Louis was released by the team this off-season.

Moore, who was the Riders’ leading receiver with 585 yards in 2021, is expected to miss training camp and the start of the season as he recovers from his injury. He also added three touchdowns.

O’Day has said the team would like to have two starting Canadian receivers again this season, meaning there is room for someone to emerge as the other option aside from Schaffer-Baker.

McInnis, Mitch Picton, Jake Harty, Wesley Lewis and Riley Boersma come into camp with eyes on that national spot.

McInnis is entering his third CFL season and caught five passes for 83 yards in 2021.

Picton began the season as one of the team’s starters and caught 25 passes for 218 yards and a touchdown in 10 games.

Harty, who was playing in his first CFL season since 2017 due to injuries and the cancelled 2020 campaign, appeared in 14 games and contributed on special teams.

Lewis was signed by the Riders in the off-season after spending the previous two with the Redblacks. He has appeared in 11 games, catching three passes for 33 yards.

Boersma was taken in the Riders in the eighth round of the 2022 CFL draft.

Receiver Samuel Emilus was taken in the first round of the draft but he has yet to sign a contract with the Riders and is attending mini-camp with the Arizona Cardinals.

Jamal Custis, Johnathon Johnson, Tevin Jones, Jakob Prall, Xavier Ubosi, Jeremiah Haydel, and Jester Weah round out the training camp participants.

Offensive line

On the roster (in alphabetical order): Logan Bandy, Jamal Campbell, Tommy Champion, Dan Clark, Logan Ferland, Zack Fry, Evan Johnson, Noah Johnson, Connor Klassen, Andrew Lauderdale, Diego Alatorre Montoya, Kooper Richardson, Na’Ty Rodgers, Riley Schick, Maurice Simba, Josiah St. John, Terran Vaughn.

The offensive line group sees all three interior starters from the 2021 unit return with centre Dan Clark and guards Logan Ferland and Evan Johnson.

Centre Dan Clark (67). (Britton Gray/980 CJME file photo)

Clark first joined the Riders in 2009 as a territorial junior from the PFC’s Regina Thunder and played his first CFL game in 2012. Since then, the Regina product has suited up for 125 regular-season games for the Roughriders.

Ferland, who also played junior football with the Thunder, began his career on the practice roster in 2019 but emerged as a starter in 2021, appearing in all 14 games.

Johnson, who is from Regina, joined the Riders in 2021 after three seasons in Ottawa.

Terran Vaughn was set to be the team’s starter at left tackle last season but a shoulder injury in training camp kept him out for the year. Cam Jefferson played nine games for the Riders at tackle, but didn’t have his contract renewed in the off-season.

Andrew Lauderdale played 11 games at tackle in 2021 and returns to the team.

Josiah St. John spent 2021 as the team’s sixth offensive lineman.

The Riders also added some Canadian depth in the off-season. They signed Jamal Campbell after he was released by the Toronto Argonauts in March. Campbell played five seasons in Toronto.

Maurice Simba was also with the Argos from 2019 to ’21, suiting up in one game for them.

Zack Fry and Diego Alatorre Montoya were among the Riders’ draft picks in 2022. Fry was taken in the second round while Montoya was taken in the third.

Na’Ty Rodgers is entering his fourth CFL season, playing 10 games with the Montreal Alouettes in 2018, spending 2019 on the Bombers’ practice roster and then playing four games for Ottawa in 2021.

Logan Bandy, the team’s fifth-round pick in 2021, will also make a push for a spot.

Tommy Champion, Noah Johnson, Connor Klassen, Kooper Richardson, and Riley Schick round out the group for training camp.

Defensive line

On the roster (in alphabetical order): Keion Adams, Miles Brown, DeMarcus Christmas, Nick Coe, Charbel Dabire, Nick Dheilly, Charleston Hughes, David Kenney, Anthony Lanier, A.C. Leonard, Garrett Marino, Reese McCormick, Pete Robertson.

The defensive line is set to look different with Micah Johnson (Hamilton Tiger-Cats) and Makana Henry (Edmonton) leaving in the off-season.

In the interior, the Riders could choose to keep their ratio the same and have Charbel Dabire line up as a Canadian at the spot. Dabire is entering his third season with the team, appearing in 22 games thus far.

The Riders also have some imposing forces in the forms of Anthony Lanier and Garrett Marino.

Lanier had one sack and 13 defensive tackles in 10 games in 2021. Marino, who only played in seven games due to a knee injury, registered four sacks in limited action.

Defensive end A.C. Leonard (6). (File photo courtesy of the Saskatchewan Roughriders)

A.C. Leonard will look to build on a season in which he had a league-leading 11 sacks.

On the other end, there will be a competition for the starting job. Jonathan Woodard, who had 10 sacks in 2021, was released by the Riders to pursue an NFL opportunity with the Kansas City Chiefs. He was recently waived by Kansas City and the Riders still own his rights.

The team announced Tuesday it had brought Charleston Hughes back into the fold. The 38-year-old had 31 sacks during his two seasons with the Riders.

He signed with the Argos for 2021, but only appeared in nine games and recorded two sacks. He was released in December.

Pete Robertson and Keion Adams were a pair of players who impressed coaches at camp in 2021. Robertson appeared in 11 games and had five sacks while Adams appeared in nine and contributed a pair of sacks.

David Kenney, Nick Coe, Nick Dheilly, Reese McCormick, DeMarcus Christmas and Miles Brown will try to make an impact at camp.

Linebackers

On the roster (in alphabetical order): A.J. Allen, Tommy Bringi, Larry Dean, Nigel Harris, Justin Herdman-Reed, Gary Johnson Jr., Konner Johnson, Alvin Jones Jr., Justice Momoka, Derrick Moncrief, Michael Pinckney, Darnell Sankey, Micah Teitz.

The Riders’ biggest challenge when it comes to their linebacker group is trying to get all of their starting-quality ones on the field at the same time.

Micah Teitz, who was named the team’s most outstanding Canadian in 2021, returns as the only member of last year’s group who played games. Teitz had a team-leading 64 tackles.

Linebacker Micah Teitz (43). (File photo courtesy of the Saskatchewan Roughriders)

Larry Dean was set to be the team’s starting middle linebacker last season but he was one of four players who suffered torn Achilles injuries a day before camp was set to open. The 33-year-old is a two-time East Division all-star (2017-18) and a one-time West Division one as well (2019).

The Riders made a splash on the first day of CFL free agency, signing two of the premier linebackers available.

Saskatchewan signed middle linebacker Darnell Sankey to a contract early in the day. Last season, Sankey led the CFL with 97 tackles in his rookie season with the Calgary Stampeders.

Then a few hours later, the team announced Derrick Moncrief would be making his return to Saskatchewan.

Moncrief, who was with Saskatchewan from 2017 through ’19, had left to pursue NFL opportunities. He spent the next few seasons with the Las Vegas Raiders and Los Angeles Rams.

He returned to the CFL in 2021, played nine games with the Elks and was named their most outstanding defensive player.

Gary Johnson Jr., Nigel Harris, Alvin Jones Jr., Justin Herdman-Reed and Michael Pinckney return after being with the team last season.

A.J. Allen (who returned for a fifth year of school at Guelph in 2021), Konner Johnson and Justice Momoka will try to make the roster at training camp.

Defensive back

On the roster (in alphabetical order): Maceo Beard, Blace Brown, Jeremy Clark, Brian Cole II, Jayden Dalke, Stephen Denmark, Vincent Dethier, Mike Edem, Tristan Fleury, Amari Henderson, A.J. Hendy, Zach Herzog, Nelson Lokombo, Nick Marshall, Rolan Milligan, TJ Morrison, Josh Nurse, Godfrey Onyeka, Kosi Onyeka, C.J. Reavis, Will Sunderland, Levonta Taylor, Matt Watson, Damon Webb.

The defensive backfield will see the most new faces out of the position groups in 2022.

“The secondary is an area to keep an eye on. We lost a couple players in Loucheiz (Purifoy) and Ed (Gainey) so you’re going to see a couple new faces in that area,” Dickenson said.

Purifoy signed with the Lions and Gainey went to the Elks in the off-season, leaving spots up for grabs at camp.

Cornerback Nick Marshall. (File photo courtesy of the Saskatchewan Roughriders)

Nick Marshall will once again patrol one corner after a three-interception campaign that saw him get named a West Division all-star in 2021.

Mike Edem is expected to return as the team’s safety. He only played in five games last season due to a wrist injury.

Damon Webb and Jeremy Clark were thrust into game action last season due to a bevy of injuries but the pair of rookies played well down the stretch for the Riders. In 10 games, Webb had one interception and 27 tackles while Clark had nine tackles and an interception in five outings.

The team will get a look at 2021 first-round pick Nelson Lokombo for the first time. Lokombo was one of four players who suffered a torn Achilles before camp.

Blace Brown, who started the 2021 season as a starter, suffered a shoulder injury which led to him only playing nine games.

A.J. Hendy was the team’s starting SAM linebacker in 2021 but saw his playing time diminish throughout the season. He left the team over a playing time dispute before playoffs but was re-signed in the off-season.

Tristan Fleury (fifth round), Jayden Dalke (sixth round) and Zach Herzog (seventh round) were taken by the Riders in the 2022 draft.

Special teams

On the roster (in alphabetical order): Jorgen Hus, Brett Lauther, Henry Nell, James Smith, Kaare Vedvik.

Brett Lauther is back and should handle the kicking duties for the Riders in 2022. Lauther was 40-for-47 on field-goal tries in 2021, with a long of 54 yards.

Kicker Brett Lauther. (File photo courtesy of the Saskatchewan Roughriders)

Kaare Vedvik took over punting duties in Week 13 after a foot injury to Jon Ryan. The team elected to stick with Vedvik, a 28-year-old global player who averaged 46 yards a punt, over Ryan and didn’t re-sign the veteran in the off-season.

Jorgen Hus will once again handle long-snapper duties.

Kicker Henry Nell, another global player from South Africa, was on the Riders’ practice roster all of last season.