Rider Head Coach Corey Chamblin
The Saskatchewan are ready to go into the 2012 regular season after making their final roster cuts on Sunday afternoon. There was 22 players released in total as the Riders settled on the guys they will take into the season opener on Friday.
Head coach Corey Chamblin says there were some tough moves that they had to be make, "Some guys were right there and hung into the end with it, but I think we’ve got right now close to what we want to have in a team."
The most surprising cut has to have been veteran defensive back Lance Frazier. Chamblin said he could see Frazier moving into a coaching role after his career, but there was just no room for him at this time. "He’s probably toward the tail end of his football career," said Chamblin. "Like all other things, we’ve got to go in a direction where we can get a little more out of guys and some guys that could play a couple more positions then he could."
Frazier was heading into his seventh year with Riders after signing with the team in 2006. He finishes his Rider career with 159 tackles and 15 interceptions in 73 career games. Chamblin had moved Frazier from his halfback spot out to corner during training camp, but he couldn’t stick.
"We have some guys that we’ll rotate through that spot,"explained Chamblin on who would be replacing Frazier in the starting lineup. "Some guys played well, Eddie Russ played well (Friday) night, so he’s a guy that will step up and he’ll get more playing time. There’s one or two more guys that we’re probably looking for on the practice squad so that they can come in and compete."
Chamblin says he expected to have all the practice roster negotiations done over the next few days, "We’ve met with some and then some are still in the air with the guys that we have on the roster, then there’s some other guys we might want to bring in, whether they want to say yes or not."
While there might have been some guys who played their way off the roster, Chamblin added that there were others who helped their case with their play, including quarterback Drew Willy, who locked up the backup job behind Darian Durant with his strong play in both preseason games.
"Right now in my mind, Drew is still the two," said Chamblin. "Drew fought his way all the way through camp and he showed it in the Saskatoon Green and White game, then he showed it in BC, then showed it (Friday) night. That was positive to see."
JT O’Sullivan will be slotted in as the third quarterback heading into the season and Levi Brown was moved to the nine-game injury list. Import wide receiver Dallas Baker and offensive tackle Dan Goodspeed were also moved over to the nine-game. Non-import fullback Graeme Bell and offensive guard Chris Best were added to the injury list.
The starting running back spot was also won by Kory Sheets with a strong training camp and an outstanding performance during the first half of Friday’s game against Calgary. "Kory played himself to the top and he has to play himself to stay at the top. It’s not one of those things where he’s locked in for the whole year, but he’s earned that spot and now he has to keep it," said Chamblin.
The Riders will begin their preparations for the regular season opener against Andy Fantuz and the Hamilton Tiger Cats on Monday morning with a practice at Mosaic Stadium.
The Riders released the following players:
Import DL Jay Alford
Import OL Johan Asiata
Non-Import WR Ismael Bamba
Non-Import K Chris Bodnar
Non-Import FB Mathieu Boulay
Import WR Patrick Brown
Non-Import OL Dan Clark
Import LB Chris Francis
Import DB Lance Frazier
Import DB Macho Harris
Non-Import OL Nick Hutchins
Import DB Talmadge Jackson
Import DB Jalil Johnson
Import LB Karl Paymah
Non-Import LB Kevin Regimbald-Gagne
Import DL Kenny Rowe
Import WR Jock Sanders
Import LB Davonte Shannon
Import LB Daniel Sheffield
Import WR Taj Smith
Import DL David Veikune
Import RB DeShawn Wynn
Riders Name Practice Roster:
The Saskatchewan Roughriders announced today they have added the following players to the Practice Roster:
Import OL Johan Asiata
Non-Import WR Ismael Bamba
Non-Import OL Dan Clark
Non-Import WR Clay Cooke
Non-Import DL Zach Evans
Import DB Macho Harris
Import WR Jock Sanders
Import WR Taj Smith
Import DL David Veikune