Five players to watch as Blue Bombers open rookie camp

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There will be a sideshow on the first day of Winnipeg Blue Bombers rookie camp, but it shouldn’t affect a group of approximately 65 players who are trying to make it to the main event.

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Gather round, CFL fans, football season is back and it all starts Wednesday morning when the rookies, quarterbacks and Bombers legend Milt Stegall converge at the University of Manitoba for the team’s first practice session of the 2024 campaign.

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It will be a day full of hopes and dreams for players who have been recruited or drafted since the team lost its second straight Grey Cup in heartbreaking fashion last November in Hamilton.

The baggage of those two losses won’t be there with this group, but rather a determination to make an early impression as they work toward earning one of a handful of available roster spots for the regular season.

Unlike last season, when the Bombers were really only looking to add a punter, a third-string quarterback and a few depth players to their roster, there are some real opportunities for these rookies this year.

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Jobs are available on the offensive line, at fullback and receiver on offence after Mike Miller and Damian Jackson retired from the backfield, Jermarcus Hardrick vacated his right tackle position to join the Saskatchewan Roughriders and Rasheed Bailey was not re-signed and joined the Toronto Argonauts.

On defence, the retirement of stalwart rush end Jackson Jeffcoat opens up a spot, while the departures of Demerio Houston (Calgary) and Winston Rose (free agent) have opened up room in the secondary.

All the new players will get a chance to work with Zach Collaros, the two-time CFL Most Outstanding Player, and former Bombers cult hero and NFLer Chris Streveler at quarterback. Newcomer quarterbacks Eric Barriere and Terry Wilson also will be taking part, along with Manitoba Bisons QB Jackson Tachinski.

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Then there’s Stegall, the 54-year-old all-time great who is a member of the Canadian Football Hall of Fame, the Winnipeg Football Hall of Fame, the Blue Bombers Ring of Honour and the Manitoba Sports Hall of Fame.

Now a long-time TSN analyst on CFL broadcasts, Stegall is joining the team for just the one day, basically to prove to himself that after years of training at a high level, he can hang in with a large group of players at least 30 years his junior.

It remains to be seen if Stegall will be a distraction but, for the most part, the American rookies won’t know who he is, so perhaps he just blends in.

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Eight of the Blue Bombers 10 selections from the 2024 draft will be in attendance, as will four more from the 2023 draft. Winnipeg’s second selection this season — running back Michael Chris-Ike — will not be at rookie camp as he’s currently at an NFL mini-camp, but he’s expected to be at main camp.

Here’s a look at five players to watch in rookie camp.

DE Chauncey Rivers (6-foot-2, 259 lbs, age 26, Mississippi State) — He has five games of NFL experience with the Baltimore Ravens and Green Bay Packers, and played with the Houston Roughnecks of the XFL in 2023, recording 16 tackles and 2.5 quarterback sacks. The Bombers brought in seven defensive ends for camp and while returning DE Celestin Haba might have the inside track to replace Jeffcoat, Rivers is a guy who could pose a challenge.

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DE Ali Fayad (6-foot-2, 250 lbs, age 24, Western Michigan) — Fayad also has pro experience, having played four games with the Toronto Argonauts in 2022 and with the Philadelphia Stars of the USFL last season. Like Rivers, he has the talent to take a run at the starting defensive end job.

WR/KR Aron Cruickshank (5-foot-10, 170 lbs, age 23, Rutgers) — The Bombers were not able to re-sign veteran kick returner Janarion Grant, but they might have a Grant clone in Cruickshank. He’s a return specialist, he’s about the same height and weight as Grant, and he even went to the same college. Cruickshank had seven return touchdowns in his collegiate career and was named the Big Ten’s return specialist of the year in 2020. That earned him a look from the Chicago Bears and Pittsburgh Steelers of the NFL before becoming a free agent.

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DB Tyrique McGhee (5-foot-10, 185 lbs, age 25, Georgia) — McGhee was with the Bombers on the practice roster last year and played in the final game of the season, but he’s still taking part in rookie camp and he has a good chance of earning a spot among the defensive backs in the regular season. He spent two inauspicious seasons on the Los Angeles Rams practice squad, twice getting suspended for performance enhancing drugs, totalling seven games. The Bombers like what they see in him and he should have a decent chance in training camp to make the team.

WR K.J. Hill (6-foot, 196 lbs, age 26, Ohio State) — The Bombers are in need of a receiver to replace the versatile Bailey and Hill is definitely in the mix. He’s the all-time receptions leader at Ohio State (201) and played 50 games for the Buckeyes during his collegiate career. He was a seventh-round pick by the Los Angeles Chargers in the 2020 NFL Draft. He did some returning in his two seasons with the Chargers (181 yards), and caught 10 passes for 103 yards. He certainly comes with some pedigree.

Twyman@postmedia.com

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