2026 Main Training Camp - News & Views

[Throw Long Bannatyne]

Ethan Stuart could challenge Kramdi for the Safety job within a few years.

ETHAN STUART 6'.03 I 223 lbs I HYBRID DB/LB CAREER HIGHLIGHTS (SCOUT CUTS )

[bunker]

Impressive numbers at the combine and good size. Makes you wonder why he didn't go a bit higher in the draft.

[Pete]

maybr trams were unssure if he is a lb or a db?

[Blue In BC]

But this year, Griffin and Woodbey are on the field together (with Wilson too).

It's not about capability, it's about roster size and ratio whether we can get all on the AR at the same time. It's possible but what / where do we give up another import?

Like I mentioned, Castillo and Vaval will be two of our 4 DI's. Because we start more than 7 Canadians, the math could work out. However that would suggest no DB or Dl as a DI.

[Blue In BC]

Unfortunately I see we've moved Schmekel to the 6 game IR. A long history of serious injuries and this could be the end. Of course what the injury was is not stated yet but it can't be good. In 3 seasons he's only managed 26 of 54 games to date.

This will probably keep Kornelson and possibly even Gatkouth on the AR as rotational players. Depends if Munier-Bailey is going to be used as a rotational player as well.

[Throw Long Bannatyne]

Unfortunately I see we've moved Schmekel to the 6 game IR. A long history of serious injuries and this could be the end. Of course what the injury was is not stated yet but it can't be good. In 3 seasons he's only managed 26 of 54 games to date.

This will probably keep Kornelson and possibly even Gatkouth on the AR as rotational players. Depends if Munier-Bailey is going to be used as a rotational player as well.

That's really bad news, hopefully it's not season ending.  Sounds like Kornelson has improved but still don't expect him to play much and Gatkouth is way too small to play DT. Offhand I can't think of any Natl. DT's that are available, they may have to pickup a temporary fix from around the league after cut down date.  Jake Thomas looks to be 50 lbs. below his playing weight, so he can't answer the bell.

[BBFANDM]

Ethan Stuart could challenge Kramdi for the Safety job within a few years.

ETHAN STUART 6'.03 I 223 lbs I HYBRID DB/LB CAREER HIGHLIGHTS (SCOUT CUTS )

Why not this year Kramdi ISN'T A SAFTEY

[ModAdmin]

Blue Bombers Training Camp | Day 9

Ed Tait
@EdTaitWFC

Day after day after day during Winnipeg Blue Bombers training camp one scene has repeated over and over again: receiver Christian Fredericksen making at least one 'Oh, wow' reception.

"He's done extremely well," began Blue Bombers head coach Mike O'Shea after a holiday Monday practice. "He's shown the ability to learn the playbook, No. 1, he catches the ball, he catches tough footballs. He shows good burst. There's all these things he's doing very, very well.

"Every time you turn on the film you notice him."

That's exactly the kind of consistency every player in camp craves and every coaching staff and scouting personnel covets. And for Fredericksen, a big target at 6-3, 209 pounds, it's exactly the same thing he did through a solid collegiate career at Idaho State.

There's also this: a year or so ago Fredericksen wondered if he'd ever get another shot like this again.

That's why when he saw the Blue Bombers were holding a free agent camp in Florida over the winter Fredericksen decided to fly south, plunk down his $100 entry free do everything possible to open some eyes.

"You just come with your $100 bill and your cleats and try to show people for a couple hours what you've got," Fredericksen said. "It's stressful but I was confident with it, too. You have to bet on yourself.

"It's been a dream. It's all happened so fast and I'm just so grateful to be out here playing football again. It's hard to complain about anything — I've heard some comments on the weather, but this is football weather. It's a blast to be out here."

Fredericksen graduated from Idaho State in 2024 with a degree in Health Care Administration and Business then spent the last year training three to six hours a day, for simply another football opportunity.

"I got into health care administration because I worked at old folk's home and I felt like the management there treated the residents poorly," he said. "I thought the best way I could make a difference in the health care realm would be from a leadership position. That's the direction to go.

"It can be a tough job, but it can also be extremely rewarding and that's what I'm excited about. But that's waiting for me. I'm in no rush to get out of football right now. I still have the love for it. You get done with college and you want to give the next level a shot and when it doesn't work out right away you have two options: accept that and start working and providing for your future family or keep chasing this thing.

"I took a couple of weeks off to think about it and at the end of those two weeks I just missed football so much I trained the entire year by myself to make this happen."

Fredericksen's path to a roster spot with the Blue Bombers won't be easy with established vets like Nic Demski, Pokey Wilson, Tim White and Tommy Nield. But with Demski and Wilson nursing injuries the last two days, the 24-year-old product of Rigby, Idaho — his brother Logan is at Montana State, FYI — has stepped up while working with a mix of offensive starters.

And, again, he just keeps making catches. And every day he seems to leave the field with a giant grin on his face.

"I want to be a deep threat. It's something I've always taken a lot of pride in," he explained. "I try to turn those 50-50 balls, those jump balls, into 70-30/80-20 balls. I want to be that guy that in those situations where the quarterback doesn't know where to go with the ball, he comes to me because he knows I'll bring it down. Consistency is something I've tried to base my game around.

"It's crazy," he added. "The first day we were out here in helmets in snowed. In May. I couldn't believe it. But everybody was complaining about it and I'm looking around with a smile on my face and I was thinking, 'I can't believe this. I'm in a helmet again.'

"All I wanted was a foot in the door and now that I'm here, I'm still just so excited."

https://www.bluebombers.com/2026/05/18/blue-bombers-training-camp-day-9/

[ModAdmin]

If this guy has talent and a will to excel and win, how can you not pull or him?

[Tecno]

Why not this year Kramdi ISN'T A SAFTEY

Because Kramdi is our QB of the D.  So even if other players are positionally better than him, Kramdi has to be on the field.

When Biggie was here, the QotD was at MLB.  When Biggie left it was BA at FS.  When BA was out it was either Kyrie @WILL or Kramdi @Sam.  So clearly we prefer the QotD to be "in the middle" (MLB/FS) but can work with either other LB spot too.

There is the option to make Kyrie the QotD if Kramdi gets plain beat out (would have to be by a mile!) at SAM/FS.  But I really don't see that happening.

Too bad Jones is more a tackling machine than a brainiac.  MLB is really the ideal spot for QotD.

Is Kramdi also not suited to WILL or CB or HB?  Seems like it's SAM or FS or bust for him.

[Tecno]

Jake Thomas looks to be 50 lbs. below his playing weight, so he can't answer the bell.

Fatboi Slim

     

[Tecno]

It was a weird signing anyway.

I liked it.  Clearly we need good IMP MLB/WILL backup, and even better when the dude can play both well, like JSK.

Kyrie is always expected to get IRd, even when he doesn't.

I bet we're on the market for a versatile, affordable MLB/WILL hybrid!

We better pray Kyrie & Jones stay healthy until we have backup options or we're in for some bigtime hurt.  Ayers has never proven good enough o start, and Woodbey is way too inexperienced/unproven.

[Tecno]

We generally play without 5 receivers on the field quite a bit. But instead of having Eli as the guy coming on, now we have the option to used Daniels or Chris-Ike or Vibert if we're going heavy.

Not every season, though.  The recent subpar OLs were a big part of avoiding 5 REC out.  If the Broxton add magically makes our OL turn into league-best pass-pro then we can do a lot more 5 REC out.

Don't forget 5 out also helps on the run game because it'll spread the back 8 farther apart.

It would be nice if we could do everything, and do it well.  Rather than have subpar units hamstring us into limited sets.

[Tecno]

JSK:

1. Anyone have the definitive on what bonus we paid him?  That's now down the toilet SMS-wise.

2. All the rest we can shield on 6G?  So really not a huge SMS problem.

3. Do we just outright cut him, as is often done for TC injuries?  Or do we show him more respect as an ex-Bomber and longtime vet?

[BlueComber]

I wasn't really looking for him, but never once noticed Kelly in practice.

I did notice #7 a bunch, who is Ethan Stuart, a 2026 draft choice.

IMHO Stuart might turn out to be outr best draft pick in 2026 - great value at 33rd overall.
I was able to make it to 3 days of camp during which I saw Stuart pull in 2 int's, make several very athletic break ups and he dominated the DB/WR padded battle drills and won the 300's. 

His movement and size stood out, his click and close, transitions and hip fluidity are exceptional for a 220 lb frame.  I left camp intrigued and wanting to learn more about #7.  I searched the team website, social posts - Tates takes and local sports coverage.. nothing, nadda - not a single photo or media mention of Ethan Stuart.

Frustrated, I did some digging - to anyone interested, here is everything you ever wanted to know about Ethan Stuart (and then some). 

What I found:  TSN, 3Down and several other respected media outlets had Stuart projected as a top 25 draft pick, some had him as high as 11th overall (notable given it was a strong/NCAA heavy draft class). Most analysts had Henning as the only USports player projected higher (he went 2nd overall and just signed with the Raiders)

At the CFL combine: Stuart was the only multiple event winner taking top spot in both agility events posting a 4.01 shuttle and 6.82 3-cone - which is insane (98 percentile by NFL standards) for a guy weighing 223 lbs - which explains why his movement and chance of direction skills stood out on the field at camp.

In 2025: Stuart led all OUA DB's in stat production with: 52 tkls, 2 sacks, 4 pb's, 2 INT's and 4 tfl's for 19 yds in 9 games - playing primarily field half at McMaster (btw: the stats listed on the Bombers website are completely  incorrect as they note him recording 52 tackles in 75 games). Stuart never missed a game in his 4 years of college football.

Stuart is from Oakville Ontario, in grade school, he was classmates with  Pinball Clemens daughter and later attended Iroquois Ridge HighSchool. Before football, he was a 4 time regional cross country, 1,500m and 3,000m champion and made numerous  OFSSAA appearances. He also played almost a decade of top tier rep hockey and provincial level soccer before deciding to try football for the first time as a highschool senior -  he excelled and was awarded both Rookie of the Year and Team MVP.  He was an honours student and captained his highschool varsity hockey team and track team, he also received the highschool athlete of the year award.

Stuart was recruited to play university  football with less than 10 games career games to his name. In his 4 years at McMaster, he developed from a true rookie cutting his teeth as a special teamer developing into one of top DB's in USports. 
He competed in the 2025 East West Bowl, received a direct invitation to the National CFL Combine and was one of 15 USports players to be invited to the 2026 College Gridiron Showcase in Fort Worth Texas where he impressed and attracted significant attention (including from our own Kyle Walters). Stuart graduated from Mac with a Civil Engineering degree in 2025.

I write this over the top bio to make a point - whether it's a player like Stuart or any other promising young player that our team has invested a draft pick in - could you please share their background with us! 

As fans, it makes us feel a part of something, keeps us informed and builds intrigue as we await the season to kickoff.  We know and love our veterans but it's the new and unknown prospects that foster debate, promote conversation and drive interest - something this league so desperately needs!!  Media and team officials... please take note... everyone else, please excuse the rant:)