Liam Richards/Electric Umbrella
Mitchell Picton is filled with anticipation these days — and not just because Christmas is coming.
The 22-year-old Regina product can’t wait until he gets another chance to suit up with the CFL’s Saskatchewan Roughriders, who announced his signing Tuesday.
“Training camp seems like a long time away, but it’ll come up quickly,” Picton said during a break from studying for a finance exam he’s to write Wednesday.
“It’s less than five months until we’re in Saskatoon, so the off-season is going to fly by. I can’t wait to get back on the field.”
The Roughriders selected the University of Regina Rams’ star receiver in the fifth round (37th overall) of the 2017 CFL draft. Picton signed with Saskatchewan and attended its training camp, but was put on the suspended list so that he could return to the U of R for his final season of U Sports eligibility.
The 6-foot-2, 200-pounder had 53 catches for 761 yards with eight touchdowns in the Rams’ eight regular-season games in 2017. He completed his U of R career with 170 receptions for 2,447 yards and 24 touchdowns in 38 career games.
The Rams’ 2017 campaign ended Nov. 4 in a Canada West semifinal loss to the UBC Thunderbirds, but Picton’s year on the gridiron wasn’t over. The Roughriders added him to their practice roster Nov. 15 and flew him to Ottawa, where they were preparing for the East Division final against the host Toronto Argonauts.
“I learned a lot — and that was the basis for that trip,” Picton said. “Coach (Chris) Jones had talked to me and said he figured they’d fly me out there because it’d be a good experience for me to see a playoff game, to see how guys prepare and, when they’re deep in the season like that, to see what guys do to stay on top of their game.”
So Picton spent time watching and learning. With the East final looming, he saw the Roughriders’ veterans do a lot of film study in hopes of picking up some of the Argos’ tendencies.
“At that point, everything is pretty polished, so it’s just guys trying to sharpen up on details and the little things that are going to help them win a football game,” Picton said. “It’s pretty similar (to what the Rams would have done), but the players are bigger, faster, stronger and more talented as well.
“There are a lot more details to the CFL game than you’d see in U Sports, so that was the biggest difference. There’s less that you can see from a receiver’s standpoint of what DBs do wrong because there isn’t much that guys do wrong at this level.
“Trying to pick those things out is a little bit tougher and makes you dig a little bit deeper into the details.”
Picton participated in three practices as the Roughriders prepared for Toronto. That allowed him to get back up to CFL speed, even though he wasn’t destined to play in Saskatchewan’s post-season games.
“I had been immersed in that level of football in training camp, so I knew what to expect,” Picton said. “I knew a lot of the guys going into (the late-season stint), so it was good.
“It was nice to sit there and learn, especially as a practice-roster guy. That late in the season, you’re not doing a whole lot, so it was good to watch what those guys were doing.”
Picton joins a Roughriders receiving corps that currently features six other Canadians: Rob Bagg, Devon Bailey, Nic Demski, Chris Getzlaf, Denzel Radford and Josh Stanford. Bailey, Demski and Getzlaf are eligible to become free agents in February.
Picton was one of three of the Roughriders’ 2017 draft picks whose signings were announced Tuesday. Linebacker Alexandre Chevrier (seventh round, 55th overall) and offensive lineman Danny Sprukulis (sixth round, 46th overall) also inked pacts, as did linebacker Alexandre Gagne.
Gagne initially was signed as an undrafted free agent in May after impressing the Roughriders’ coaching staff at the team’s mini-camp in Florida in April.
The 25-year-old product of St-Hubert, Que., spent nine weeks on the team’s practice roster in 2017, but he did play one regular-season game. The 6-foot-1, 230-pounder had one special-teams tackle against the Winnipeg Blue Bombers on Sept. 9.
Chevrier, who was a teammate of Gagne’s at the University of Sherbrooke, attended training camp with the Roughriders. He subsequently was suspended so that he could return to the Vert et Or for his final U Sports season.
Over his 35-game career at Sherbrooke, the 6-foot-0, 217-pounder out of Pointe-Claire, Que., recorded 152 tackles, six tackles for losses, four sacks and one interception. Chevrier, 24, joined the Roughriders’ practice roster on Nov. 8 after the Vert et Or’s season ended.
Sprukulis, a 22-year-old who hails from Oakville, Ont., stayed at the University of Toronto for his fifth U Sports season in 2017. The 6-foot-5, 315-pounder started 40 games on the Varsity Blues’ offensive line in his collegiate career.
