This Year's Battles

By "Bud"
Saskatchewan Roughrider FAN Page
November 19, 2000

As you are reading this, CFL training camps have opened all across Canada. The Saskatchewan Roughriders are holding theirs in Saskatoon again this year. Camp started with sixty-eight young men vying for thity-eight spots on the active roster. Let's cut to the chase and look at battles that are sure to occur at each position:

QB: The Riders have sort of bet the farm that Oklahoma farmboy Henry Burris can step up and become a competent, if not spectacular, starting quarterback in the CFL. So much so that they felt good enough to release veteran QB Reggie Slack and did not flinch when the other veteran, QB Steve Sarkisian, decided to hang up the cleats. Burris not only has the challenge of winning a starting job, but also has the challenge of coming back from a season-ending knee injury. Although it appears everything is OK, one can never feel good until he has survived some hits in training camp. Before the injury, Burris showed flashes of brilliance in stepping in for Calgary QB Dave Dickinson last season. Should Burris go down, there is nothing but inexperience to back him up. Second-year man John Rayborn is back, but showed very little promise in the few moments he played last season. Rookies Jose Laureano and Keith Smith look talented, but lack Canadian football experience. The first time they line up and see twelve men across the line from them or when they try to throw an out to the wide side of the field and it falls to the turf fifteen yards short of the receiver, they will realize how different the game is. It will be a long season should Burris get injured, but expect the two newcomers to supplant Rayborn as Burris' backup.

RB: Probably the area of most concern on this Rider offence. Mike Saunders' retirement has left a huge hole to fill both in terms of talent and in leadership. After having a very strong season last year before suffering an injury, it appeared Saunders' had somehow regained a step in his aging body. Second-year Rider Ricky Whittle filled in admirable for Saunders' in his injury-absence, but there was a definite lowering in the level of play from the RB position. Going up against Whittle will be Dione Tyler, who is in his second camp with the Riders, former Toronto Argonaut Don "Kato" Hitson, rookie Steve Wofford and Kennedy Nkeyaasen who is now in his second season with this hometown team. Look for Wofford. He has good speed and excellent hands. He went to training camp with the St. Louis Rams last season and they moved him to wide receiver because he could catch. The Riders also lost FB Shawn Daniels to the Edmonton Eskimos. Normally that would be a big loss, but because the Riders plan on going with only a single setback in most of their formations, Daniels would have seen little playing time anyhow. When the Riders do want to put a fullback in Chris Szarka, Mike Maurer, rookie Hudson Clark and even former Argo Duane Dmytryshyn will try to fill the bill.

Offensive Line: The only group head coach Danny Barrett does not have to lose sleep over. A solid veteran group lead by left OT John Terry. OG Andrew Greene should be an all-star if he can stay healthy. Solid C James Monroe is back and not looking to retire any time soon. The right side should feature Dan Comiskey and Gene Makowsky although we don't know which of the two will be playing guard and who will be playing tackle. Even the Rider backups are solid in former first-round choice Ben Fairbrother and veterans Rob Lazeo and Jeremy O'Day. Newcomers trying to win a spot but will unlikely be sucessfull are Jamie Forsythe and Eric Sanderson.

Receivers: As much as Rider fans may hate to see crowd pleaser WR Don Narcisse go, it was probably the best thing. Narcisse contributed very little last season, although he did provide the most memorable moment from last season when he went by B.C. Lions all-star cornerback Eric Carter with a shake-and-bake move and burned him for a long touchdown catch. The Riders will be harder hit with the retirement of SB Curtis Mayfield and free-agent departure of WR Reggie Jones. Mayfield and Jones were the Riders' big play receivers who could score from anywhere on the field. The only returnees are Eric Guliford, Dan Farthing and Ousmane Tounkara. Guliford, a posession receiver who had second thoughts about returning to football, may be moved from wide receiver to his more natural slotback spot. Here he could face competition from Curtis Marsh. Marsh has spent some unfruitful years in the NFL, but a change in scenery may do him good. Not fast, Marsh is big and will catch anything thrown his way. Look for Guliford to retain his spot. Farthing could be in a spot of trouble with Tounkara, Duane Dmytryshyn and rookie third-round draft choice Dylan Ching gunning for a spot. Farthing's falling rate of production the past two seasons makes him a candidate to be bumped. Tounkara has shown potential in the past two years, but must step it up if he wants to have a productve professional career. The Riders will keep Dmytryshyn, just because of his versatility at WR, SB and RB. Watchout for Ching though. He is the University of San Diego's all-time leading receiver. Not blessed with blazing speed, he has shown to have good hands, good grittiness, and a marvellous ability to elude tacklers after he makes the catch. Don't be surprised if Farthing is traded or released. The battle for the starting wideout positions will be fought by rookies. Demetris Bendross, Ricky Boyer, James Epps, Akim Richmond and Antonio Wilson will be the battlers. Who will win these spots is anyone's guess at this point, but give an edge to Boyer and Epps. Boyer has game-breaking speed and was the big-play threat at Arizona State. Epps would have been a starter last season in Calgary had he not suffered an injury in training camp.

Defensive Line: A sore spot with the Riders all season last year. They came out of camp with a line that was too small. As a result, opposing offensive lines manhandled them and opened gaping holes for their running backs. Not wanting to make the same result this time, GM Roy Shivers signed free agent Demetrious Maxie from the Toronto Argonauts. He will go a long way in solidifying this defence. Maxie will likely be paired at defensive tackle with Canadian Colin Scrivener. Scrivener showed promise last year when he was given playing time. Sheldon Napastuk will back up and last year's starting tackle, Michael Lawson, appears to be out of a job as he was midway last season, until he begged Cal Murphy for a second chance. The battle for the defensive end spots will be interesting. DE Neal Smith was the Riders' rookie-of-the-year last season. He and R-Kal Truluck will need to have a good camp to stick around. Both are not shoo-ins. They will be facing competition from Kendall Hill, Curtis Jeter, and Chance McCarty. Truluck and Smith should win, but watch for quick Chance McCarty, who spent last season with the Dallas Cowboys.

Linebacker: Will look a lot different than last year, both in terms of content and style. Ken Benson and Willie Pless are gone. Youngsters Trevis Smith and Bamidele Ali are back. Also back in the game after a year's absence is former Dallas Cowboy and Calgary Stampeder Anthony McClanahan. When healthy, McClanahan can be the best in the league. He is rangy, able to cover receivers, and solid enough to fight through blocks to get to ball carriers. The Riders would like him to be in the middle. Trevis Smith will probably make a bid for the same spot. Riders are still high on Smith, but he is coming back from a hip dislocation injury, a rarity in football. One outside linebacker will be quite different from last year. In defensive co-ordinator Gary Etcheverry's scheme, this outiside linebacer is more of a defensive back than true linebacker. In this way, Ventson Donelson, draft pick Shawn Gallant and Harold Lusk are being considered. The other linebacker spot will be more traditional. Ali, Troy Asbell, Aaron Collins, Antonio Ester, Matt Pederson, Jermaine Smith will fight it out. They may also be considered for the middle linebacking spot. First-pick Tyson St. James, George Psofimis will battle Randy Srochenski for a backup spot. Watch for a linebacking corps of McClanahan, Collins and Donelson. Backing them up will be St. James, Gallant and Srochenski.

Defensive Backs: This is the area to watch! With only second-year players safeties Stephane Fortin and Matthew Hammer returning, everything is open. Including the aforementioned players, twelve others are looking to fill the five spots. They are Dawan Anderson, Yudonn Biassou, Alundis Brice, Antoine Hunter, LaDouphyous McCalla, Marcus McDavid, Tarrance McEvans, Omarr Morgan, Kris Neal, Dennison Robinson, Fernando Thomas, and George White. Only Brice and Thomas have any CFL experience. Former Argo Brice may gain one corner spot. Look for Morgan at the other, with McCalla and Hunter to challenge. Thomas and White could form the defensive halfback tandem. Fortin will likely be the safety, a spot he earned a few starts at last season. If this group should falter, expect some help in the form of returning free agents who have failed in their bid to land permanent employment in the NFL. This could take the form of Shannon Garrett, Kelly Malveaux, Todd McMillon and Mark Tate.

Special Teams: K Paul McCallum's job is safe at kicking. However, his punter's job is in jeopardy. Riders have brought in P Scott McKenzie to challenge. They were hoping to sign draft pick QB/P Mike O'Brien, but at this point were unable to. O'Brien had a 46+ yard average while playing at Western Ontario. Special team specialists RB Mike Maurer and DB Paul Girodo are likely to be back. Punt and kick returner Don "Kato" Hitson was signed. After an injury last season, he is hoping to get back on track. Look for McCallum to do the placekicking, McKenzie the punting. Hitson, depending on whether he can backup at running back and defensive back effectively, may win a job as a returner.

Overall, there are major question marks at running back and defensive backs.

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