Cameron Judge arrived in Regina with a newly obtained political science degree from UCLA, but he admittedly needs to study some Saskatchewan Roughriders history.
Judge, whom the Roughriders selected in the first round (second overall) of the May 7 CFL draft, hit the field Monday at Mosaic Stadium for his first practice with the Roughriders — and he was wearing No. 4.
The rookie linebacker wasn’t aware that the number previously was worn by long-time Roughriders quarterback Darian Durant. Judge simply asked for and received the number he had worn at UCLA.
“At the end of the day, it’s a number,” Judge said. “It’s not too big of a deal to me.”
The Roughriders announced Judge’s signing on Sunday, six weeks after they selected him in the draft. The 6-foot-2, 235-pound product of Montreal didn’t sign a contract immediately or join the team for training camp in Saskatoon because he was completing his studies and graduating from UCLA.
Roughriders head coach-GM Chris Jones accepted Judge’s decision.
“People have got families and they’ve got futures and careers that they’ve got to think about …,” Jones said. “Sure, I would have liked to have had him (at camp), but he has worked long and hard in order to get that college degree and it meant a lot to him and it meant a lot to his parents. Who was I to stand in his way?”
It’ll take Judge some time to get acclimated to his new surroundings — the CFL rules and the size of the field are among the things that are foreign to him — and to the Roughriders’ schemes.
He already has spent time with the coaches and players to get a handle on his defensive and special-teams responsibilities in hopes of being ready for Thursday’s regular-season opener against the host Montreal Alouettes.
The crash course is the price he’s paying for missing training camp.
“There’s no arguing that it will put you behind,” Judge said. “But I can still control how well I perform by just putting in the time that’s needed to catch up and get up to speed. I’m willing to do that and I’m ready to do it.”
Judge’s teammates have taken a few good-natured jabs at him since he reported, but he was grateful for the way he had been received. Now comes the task of living up to being a first-round draft pick.
“I know I’m expected to perform and expected to do well,” Judge said. “But I’m not going to let that get to my head and make me put too much pressure on myself. I’ll just take it in stride and do what I can.”
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Judge’s first practice with Saskatchewan was the team’s first practice in its new home.
The Roughriders played a pre-season game at Mosaic Stadium on June 10, but their training camp was held in Saskatoon. The workout Monday was the team’s first one in the new stadium.
Judge called the place “definitely the best facility I’ve been in.”
“It’s very exciting,” added quarterback Kevin Glenn. “From the tile in the showers to the paint on the walls to the chairs and desks in the meeting rooms, it’s first class.
“When you walk in here, you feel blessed to be in a situation like this and play in a stadium like this. It’s awesome.”
The Roughriders won’t play another game in the $278-million stadium until July 1, when they entertain the Winnipeg Blue Bombers in the home opener.
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Saskatchewan completed its pre-season slate Friday in Vancouver, where the B.C. Lions beat the Roughriders 42-10.
The visitors were flagged 17 times for 149 yards in the contest and turned over the ball five times, including one fumble that was returned for a touchdown.
“It was 22 negative plays,” Jones said. “I was telling some of the guys today that we could be the (Pittsburgh) Steelers of the ’70s or ’80s or the Dallas Cowboys of the ’90s and if you take that type of penalties and turn the ball over, you’re going to lose football games.
“We did play 70 ball players and some of the mistakes came from guys who aren’t here right now, so we’re a better football team than what the score indicated the other night.”
Glenn had his own theory as to why the Roughriders were flagged as often as they were.
“I just think (the officials) were getting ready for the season as far as practising and getting their arms in shape,” he said, tongue in cheek.
“It’s a very weird way of pulling the flag and throwing it out really quick. (A reporter) wouldn’t know because you’re not a ref, but I’ve tried it sometimes to try to figure out how they do it so fast.”
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EXTRAS: Guards Brendon LaBatte and Josiah St. John, both of whom missed practice last week, were back on the field Monday. So were tailback Kienan LaFrance and linebacker Sam Eguavoen, both of whom have been sidelined since early in training camp … Receiver Rob Bagg was on the field for the start of practice. But Bagg — who has been hampered by a sore ankle — left the field before the end of the workout. It’s unclear if he’ll be ready for Thursday’s game … Receiver-returner Chad Owens, who was sidelined for much of training camp with a lingering foot injury, didn’t participate in Monday’s practice. His status for Thursday’s game also is uncertain.
