Sam Williams was thrown into the deep end Thursday — and he did more than just keep his head above water.
Williams was one of three CFL rookies who started on the Saskatchewan Roughriders’ defence as they opened the regular season against the host Montreal Alouettes.
The 23-year-old product of Monroe, La., had four defensive tackles — two of which resulted from big hits — in the Roughriders’ 17-16 loss at Percival Molson Stadium.
“I was just trying to do what everybody else was doing,” Williams said after his CFL debut. “As a defence, you try to play hard. My mindset was just to play hard the whole time.”
Linebacker Erick Dargan and halfback Chris Lyles also played in their first regular-season games with the Roughriders.
Dargan had four defensive tackles, while Lyles had one tackle and a fumble recovery. Lyles also was beaten by Ernest Jackson for one of Montreal’s two touchdowns in the game.
“It slowed down as the game went on,” Dargan said. “I didn’t see anything different from what I saw in the pre-season games, except that I was going against the best guys on their team.”
Dargan wasn’t surprised by anything he saw during the contest, so he came out of the game convinced he can handle himself in the CFL. Williams also was happy to have a regular-season game under his belt.
“It kind of calms me down a little bit,” he said. “I’m still in ‘go’ mode 100 per cent. The first pre-season game (June 10 against the visiting Winnipeg Blue Bombers), I got the shakiness out. I’m good now. I’m in it.”
Roughriders head coach-GM Chris Jones said he felt “pretty good” about the play of the newcomers. He needed to review the game film to confirm that, but he saw things from them during the game that allowed him to make an initial diagnosis.
“I felt like the game wasn’t too big for them,” Jones said. “Their eyes weren’t really big on the sideline and they were pretty relaxed.”
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Williams played safety at East Texas Baptist University, so he could have been taken aback a bit when the Roughriders told him he would be playing linebacker.
But the 6-foot-2, 205-pounder took the news in stride. The strong-side linebacker spot is more of a coverage position in Saskatchewan’s defence, so it fit his skill set.
“(In university), I was usually in the box as the strong safety; that’s the way we played it,” he said. “I don’t have any problems with going inside the box or going outside the box. It’s whatever fits the defence.”
Williams, who signed with the Roughriders just before training camp opened in Saskatoon, started camp as a cornerback before being moved. He made an impact Thursday with a couple of solid shots on Als receiver Alex Pierzchalski.
“My hits come from the defence as a whole,” Williams said. “We all try to do the same thing.”
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The Roughriders were slated to have three days off after returning from Montreal.
That was their reward for a compressed schedule that featured three weeks of training camp in Saskatoon, road trips to Regina and Vancouver for pre-season games, and a trip to Montreal just four days after returning from B.C.
The break should provide a welcome respite for the players and coaches.
“A lot of our rookies have got to find housing and that type of thing,” Jones said. “We’ve been on two short weeks back to back to start the season, so it’s an opportunity for them to kind of relax just a little bit, try to find a place to stay and settle in in Regina.”
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Midway through the fourth quarter of Thursday’s game, the Roughriders tried to throw a changeup at the Als.
It didn’t work.
Trailing 14-13 and with a first down at the Montreal 13-yard line, Saskatchewan replaced starting quarterback Kevin Glenn with Brandon Bridge.
The backup QB rushed for three yards on first down and then overthrew Duron Carter in the end zone on second down. The Roughriders had to settle for an 18-yard Tyler Crapigna field goal that gave them a 16-14 lead with 6:56 left in the game.
“We ran our Wildcat play,” Jones said when asked to explain the move, “and then there was a play that we had specifically for (Bridge) for the second down as well.”
Those were the only two plays Bridge ran during the contest.
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EXTRAS: Ricky Collins Jr., who was tasked with handling Saskatchewan’s returns in place of the injured Chad Owens, didn’t make it through Thursday’s game. Jones said Collins — who was credited with one punt return for one yard — injured a shoulder during the contest. Carter and Nic Demski (punts) and Greg Morris (kickoffs) took over for Collins … Carter was playing his first game against the Als since they released him in October. The Roughriders’ wideout was targeted nine times in the game, but caught just two passes for 12 yards. One of the throws intended for Carter was knocked down at the last second by Montreal cornerback Jonathon Mincy, who prevented what may have turned into a 104-yard pass-and-run touchdown … Cornerback Jovon Johnson fit in seamlessly with Saskatchewan’s defence despite having just two days of practice. The 33-year-old veteran had seven defensive tackles and a pass knockdown against a Montreal team that cut him Saturday.
