Rookie Camp Comments and Discussion

[Blue In BC]

https://www.bluebombers.com/2023/05/09/rookie-camp-preview-2/

....FIVE TO WATCH

Topping our 'To Watch' list a year ago was receiver Dalton Schoen, who then went on to lead the Canadian Football League in receiving and being named the league's Most Outstanding Rookie. That's a high bar, but here are a handful of fresh faces to begin tracking now:

#90 DE Jadrian Taylor: The Blue Bombers could use some import depth behind Willie Jefferson and Jackson Jeffcoat and Taylor, who spent two years at UTEP, is one of the candidates to track during camp.

LB Barrington Wade: Has had NFL looks from Baltimore and Denver, has impressive testing numbers, and caught the eye of Bombers scout Cyril Penn last year at Broncos training camp.

WR Michael Young: Played his college ball at both Notre Dame and Cincinnati before NFL opportunities last year from Indianapolis and Houston. The Blue Bombers receiving corps is stacked, but that doesn't stop management from looking.

#49 LB Gee Stanley: An intriguing prospect in that he can play linebacker and could also get a look at the Dime spot. That versatility can be key in the CFL.

DE Aaron Sterling: Similar situation to Taylor, listed above. Check out Cyril Penn's piece on him from late March here: https://www.bluebombers.com/2023/03/28/tales-from-the-scouting-trail-aaron-sterling/...

That's a good list to keep our eyes on. Thanks for that info. 

[ModAdmin]

...And there will be lineup handouts at the two training camps for those attending...

[KINGCHARLES]

we can/should all agree that the only things missing from this team are:
1) Reliable Convert/FG kicking (82% is still amazing compared to kickers like Westwood and how many games did he cost us)
---This should be combined with the overall kicking game for kickoffs and punting, we need better net yardage and need to be better at pinning our opponents deep.
2) Some defensive gems at DL/LB to rotate and fill in when/if needed.
---- Every year we find gems on either offence or defence, sometimes we find 1 or 2 on both. This year we are stacked on offence so I pray we find like 2-3 gems on the defensive side. Our biggest weakness is the rotational/depth behind the key starters. We need guys that can be as dominating and make big plays when starters need a rest or if starters get injured.
I pray guys like Jeffcoat and Wilson can play a full 18 game season because in reality that would make things extremely unfair for the rest of the league. In reality we can probably expect Jeffcoat to miss 2-4 games and Wilson....maybe Malik Clements improves on his 2022 season and we see no drop at all. Who knows maybe Clements can steal a job but factor in this Kyrie Wilson is soo good that the Bombers were penciling him in to be our starting MLB in 2018 before Bighill surprised us with his pressence.
Thad Hansen missing most of last year was also a huge reason why the rotational depth suffered... he's literally a tank when hes on the field, plays much bigger and faster  than he is and he isn't a small guy.
Our secondary might be scary good, we just need to make sure we have a good sold dime back but im hearing the rumours that Demerio Houston might be penciled in as that guy. Lawrence, Nichols have an insane nose for the ball and play some amazing off ball coverage. If Winston Rose can play the way he did in 2019 and 2021 then Parker/Holm will have a much easier time this year as we should have Alexander at S for the whole season.

[pdirks67]

I went to rookie camp today. Players that I noticed included:
(1) Michael O'Shea (WR#76): For Day 1, he actually stood out. I was paying special attention to him, but he would have stood out even if I wasn't. He caught a few balls and looked quick and physical in traffic.
(2) Deuce Wallace (DB 48): He had a pick and looked quick and athletic.
(3) Barrington Wade (LB 54): Looks like a stud athlete. It will be interesting to see what he might be able to do in game action.
(4) Jake Kelly (DB 29): Moves very well, looks like a great athlete.
(5) Jonathan Rosery (RB 42): Built like a bowling ball and seems to play like it (without pads, mind you), I'd like to see what he can do running between the tackles in game action.
(6) Jeremy Murphy (WR 74): Looked very comfortable out there catching passes, looks like he will be able to provide some good competition for a backup Canadian WR spot.
(7) Carlton Agudosi (WR 86): Heeeeee'sss baaaaack!! He looked really good out there. I saw him drop one pass, but he showed his experience and looked very, very good out there.

None of the rookie QB's stood out to me. If I had to pick one guy, I'd say that Josh Jones (#15) looked like he was the most polished of the bunch. Dru Brown looked better than anyone else (duh!), including Zach Collaros who has some offseason rust to knock off (not worried at all, obviously - just saying).

I didn't watch the linemen much.

The kickers were mostly just booting converts from the 32 yard line (I wonder why...). I only saw Staton (70) and Orozco (72). Different styles, not sure which one knocked the most through. Both looked competent at first glance. When they moved back to the 50, it looked like Orozco had a stronger leg, but not enough kicks to say anything definitive.

[ModAdmin]

On Barrington Wade...

...Wade stands at 6-1 and weighs in at 232 pounds, but he looks much bigger on the field due to his excellent length. With 34 ?-inch arms and an absurd 6-9 wingspan, he's able to affect passing lanes, shed blocks and stretch out to make diving tackles more easily than the typical 6-1 linebacker. Wade's length is complemented by impressive straight-line speed (4.65 second 40-yard dash) and quick feet evidenced by a 3-Cone Drill time that ranked in the 92nd percentile at his position (6.89 seconds).

Those excellent physical tools impressed the Broncos enough that they kept Wade around on the practice squad throughout the 2021 season and signed him to reserve/futures deal to return for 2022 training camp....

https://www.bluebombers.com/2023/05/09/tales-from-the-scouting-trail-barrington-wade/

[theaardvark]

QB's competing for the 3rd spot / SY / holder... will be interesting to see who wins out, and why...

[DM83]

Awesome report!
Thank you!

Forgive my laziness, but I do have to work for they pay me, so I have not ingrained the Aussie punters.  I am really curious if they are contenders or pretenders

[pjrocksmb]

Wallace Wade and Kelly will push for a spot on the club me thinks

[pdirks67]

I went to rookie camp today. Players that I noticed included:
(1) Michael O'Shea (WR#76): For Day 1, he actually stood out. I was paying special attention to him, but he would have stood out even if I wasn't. He caught a few balls and looked quick and physical in traffic.
(2) Deuce Wallace (LB 48): He had a pick and looked quick and athletic.
(3) Barrington Wade (LB 54): Looks like a stud athlete. It will be interesting to see what he might be able to do in game action.
(4) Jake Kelly (DB 29): Moves very well, looks like a great athlete.
(5) Jonathan Rosery (RB 42): Built like a bowling ball and seems to play like it (without pads, mind you), I'd like to see what he can do running between the tackles in game action.
(6) Jeremy Murphy (WR 74): Looked very comfortable out there catching passes, looks like he will be able to provide some good competition for a backup Canadian WR spot.
(7) Carlton Agudosi (WR 86): Heeeeee'sss baaaaack!! He looked really good out there. I saw him drop one pass, but he showed his experience and looked very, very good out there.

**Edit: Added training camp roster sheet as an image attachment.

None of the rookie QB's stood out to me. If I had to pick one guy, I'd say that Josh Jones (#15) looked like he was the most polished of the bunch. Dru Brown looked better than anyone else (duh!), including Zach Collaros who has some offseason rust to knock off (not worried at all, obviously - just saying).

I didn't watch the linemen much.

The kickers were mostly just booting converts from the 32 yard line (I wonder why...). I only saw Staton (70) and Orozco (72). Different styles, not sure which one knocked the most through. Both looked competent at first glance. When they moved back to the 50, it looked like Orozco had a stronger leg, but not enough kicks to say anything definitive.

[Blue In BC]

I went to rookie camp today. Players that I noticed included:
(1) Michael O'Shea (WR#76): For Day 1, he actually stood out. I was paying special attention to him, but he would have stood out even if I wasn't. He caught a few balls and looked quick and physical in traffic.
(2) Deuce Wallace (LB 48): He had a pick and looked quick and athletic.
(3) Barrington Wade (LB 54): Looks like a stud athlete. It will be interesting to see what he might be able to do in game action.
(4) Jake Kelly (DB 29): Moves very well, looks like a great athlete.
(5) Jonathan Rosery (RB 42): Built like a bowling ball and seems to play like it (without pads, mind you), I'd like to see what he can do running between the tackles in game action.
(6) Jeremy Murphy (WR 74): Looked very comfortable out there catching passes, looks like he will be able to provide some good competition for a backup Canadian WR spot.
(7) Carlton Agudosi (WR 86): Heeeeee'sss baaaaack!! He looked really good out there. I saw him drop one pass, but he showed his experience and looked very, very good out there.

None of the rookie QB's stood out to me. If I had to pick one guy, I'd say that Josh Jones (#15) looked like he was the most polished of the bunch. Dru Brown looked better than anyone else (duh!), including Zach Collaros who has some offseason rust to knock off (not worried at all, obviously - just saying).

I didn't watch the linemen much.

The kickers were mostly just booting converts from the 32 yard line (I wonder why...). I only saw Staton (70) and Orozco (72). Different styles, not sure which one knocked the most through. Both looked competent at first glance. When they moved back to the 50, it looked like Orozco had a stronger leg, but not enough kicks to say anything definitive.

Wallace is listed as a DB on the roster but his size suggests he could be looked at as a SAM? Same size as Darby pretty much. Could also be fighting for a spot as a DI used on ST's I'd imagine.

Good news on the Canadian draft picks looking good on day 1. I thought they might be good depth players for development on the PR.  We need someone like Rosery to add that insurance behind our 2 Canadian RB's.

After changes to our Canadian depth at DB, I was hoping Kelly and Veltri would show well. There are 2 open spots to fill.  Lavigne was here in 2022 so he'll be in the mix too but he's listed as a LB?. So 2 of 4 on AR and 2 possibly on PR unless they really don't show well.

Even better news on Agudosi showing his stuff.

109 players on the roster posted. I wonder which won't be asked to main TC. That's their 1st goal to survive rookie camp. One leg cramp or nick would be bad news for a rookie.

Thanks for the updates.

[pdirks67]

Wallace is listed as a DB on the roster but his size suggests he could be looked at as a SAM? Same size as Darby pretty much. Could also be fighting for a spot as a DI used on ST's I'd imagine.

Whoops!! Yeah, Wallace is a DB, thanks for pointing that out. To be honest, I didn't start watching him until after he made the pick and he was built like a LB. Yes, I could see him at SAM. I'll correct my original post.

[Blue In BC]

Whoops!! Yeah, Wallace is a DB, thanks for pointing that out. To be honest, I didn't start watching him until after he made the pick and he was built like a LB. Yes, I could see him at SAM. I'll correct my original post.

Not an issue. At times some players are listed as DB's, LB's or safeties. Being able to cover, having speed and good hands gives the team some flexibility for several of these candidates.

We won't really know what the real expectations are until the main TC with veterans and perhaps the 1s pre season game.

[Waffler]

I mostly saw the same things as Pdirks, but things are going on all over field, no way one person can see it all.

Kicker. No one really stood apart from the pack.  Didn't see any punting and I was there for the majority of it. No vet kickers today.

QB's. Who knows this early? Just seems too many splitting the few reps that there were, it being first day and all.

Receiver. Young O'Shea gave a good account of himself, still think he is here for the learning experience though. He looked YOUNG with his helmet off. He's 23 btw. Jeremy Murphy looked smooth. Agudosi impressed, he's just so tall, also no sign of any past injury.

DB. I'll single out Karamoko. Looks like a real athlete and has some confidence.

Dark horse. Ta?Zhawn Henry looked like he had a burst and possibly power for his size. He has a shot at a job I feel.

The Deuce Wallace pick was the highlight. He jumped the route, surprising everybody.

Richie Hall was limping a bit. No bandage or brace though.

[pdirks67]

DB. I'll single out Karamoko. Looks like a real athlete and has some confidence.

Agree on this, he looks like he should be able to fly out there.

[GOLDMEMBER]

Wicked stuff dirks and others. Sounds like real nice talent abound which is always great to hear!