For the most part, the Saskatchewan Roughriders have been shopping Canadian.
Five of the six players signed so far by the CFL team this week are nationals. Centre Dan Clark (born in Regina) and fullback Spencer Moore (Hamilton) signed contract extensions, while defensive tackle Zack Evans (Regina), linebacker Sam Hurl (Calgary) and tailback Jerome Messam (Toronto) were inked to free-agent deals.
The lone exception among the signees is North Carolina product Travis Bond. The former Winnipeg Blue Bombers offensive lineman signed Wednesday afternoon.
“Next to quarterback, one of the largest things that we have to deal with is Canadian content,” Roughriders head coach-GM Chris Jones said Wednesday from his home in South Pittsburg, Tenn., during a conference call with Regina media. “You have to line up with some guys who can really play.
“The teams that I’ve been involved with that have gone on and won a lot of football games, you couldn’t tell a lot of difference between the Canadian guys and the American guys.”
The signings of Messam and Hurl were announced Wednesday. The deals for Clark, Moore and Evans were announced Tuesday.
Messam, 32, is heading into his second stint with Saskatchewan; he played 14 games with the Roughriders in 2014 and 15 games in 2015 before being traded to the Calgary Stampeders for kicker Tyler Crapigna late in the ’15 season.
The 6-foot-3, 255-pound Messam exceeded 1,000 yards rushing in each of the past two seasons with Calgary, gaining 1,198 yards (with 11 touchdowns) in 2016 and 1,016 yards (with nine TDs) last season.
In the Stampeders’ first two games against Saskatchewan in 2017 — both of which Calgary won — Messam rushed for 135 and 127 yards, respectively. The Roughriders held him to 43 yards in the teams’ third meeting, which Saskatchewan won.
Messam also has played for the B.C. Lions (2010), Edmonton Eskimos (2011-12) and Montreal Alouettes (2013) in his CFL career. He has rushed 1,035 times for 5,484 yards and 34 touchdowns and added 219 receptions for 1,997 yards and two TDs in 125 career regular-season games.
A potential ratio-breaker, Messam joins internationals Cameron Marshall, Trent Richardson and Marcus Thigpen as the current members of Saskatchewan’s stable of running backs.
Hurl, 27, also returns to Saskatchewan for a second go-round.
The 6-foot-1, 234-pounder began his CFL career with the Roughriders, who selected him in the second round (12th overall) of the 2012 draft out of the University of Calgary.
Hurl played 42 games with Saskatchewan over the next three seasons, recording 41 tackles, 35 special-teams stops, three fumble recoveries and two sacks.
After signing as a free agent with Winnipeg in February of 2015, he had 125 tackles, 12 special-teams takedowns and six sacks in 48 regular-season games. Last season, he recorded 65 tackles, one sack, one interception and one forced fumble in 18 games.
“I felt like Saskatchewan wanted me to be a part of that team,” Hurl said from Calgary when asked why he rejoined the Roughriders. “They wanted me to contribute, so that was a big part of it.
“I just like the way things have been moving in Saskatchewan. I feel like that team is on the right track now.”
Jones said he talked with special-teams co-ordinator Craig Dickenson about Hurl before deciding to sign the free agent.
“When we had the opportunity to possibly get him back with our organization, it was kind of a no-brainer,” Jones said. “He’s a guy who can play Mike (middle linebacker), he can play Will (weak-side linebacker) and he can be on four special teams. Those are extremely critical.”
Hurl started at middle linebacker in Winnipeg and he might get that opportunity in Saskatchewan as well. Late Wednesday, the Roughriders announced they had released incumbent Henoc Muamba.
“Whatever it is I need to do to help the team win, I’m willing to do it,” Hurl said. “I’m a team guy; I think that’s one of my biggest attributes.”
Clark, 29, is heading into his seventh season with the Roughriders. He initially joined the team as a territorial junior in 2009 when he was a member of the PFC’s Regina Thunder and then made his debut with Saskatchewan in August of 2012.
Asked Wednesday what he was thinking when he first worked out with the Roughriders, Clark replied: “Survive; that was probably the biggest thing.”
“It was a shock, days before my 20th birthday, unsure of how I was going to fit in the locker room full of men,” he continued. “But it was the leadership (that helped). It was what was established in that room and the traditions that were built that were passed on to myself.”
Now, the veteran of 79 regular-season games, four playoff contests and the 2013 Grey Cup game wants to be the man who passes things on to others.
Clark said “there was never a doubt” in his mind that he would sign an extension to remain with the Roughriders. The 6-foot-2, 310-pounder likes where the team is going and the camaraderie in the locker room, so he was happy to sign on the dotted line.
“I’m getting to the point where it’s, ‘Let the young guys make the money. I want to be a leader,’ ” Clark said. “I want to be able to help out. I want to establish the tradition for many more years to come so guys like Josiah (St. John), (Dariusz) Bladek and guys that come into this locker room know what it’s like to be a Rider.”
Like Clark, Moore was eager to stay with the only CFL team of which he has ever been a part.
Selected by Saskatchewan in the fifth round (44th overall) of the 2013 draft out of McMaster University, Moore has played 63 regular-season games over five seasons with the Roughriders and won a Grey Cup ring with them in 2013.
“I feel like I’ve been here when times were good — ’13 — and then when times were bad — the following years — and I kind of want to see this thing all the way through,” said Moore, 27.
“It would be pretty cool for my career and for my legacy here, whatever it may be, to be able to go from the top to the bottom to the top again.”
A special-teams stalwart — the 6-foot-4, 230-pounder has 34 career tackles on cover teams — Moore also has caught 19 passes for 164 yards in his career.
He isn’t sure if his role will change in 2018, but he also isn’t worried about that.
“Those decisions aren’t up to me,” Moore said. “I pride myself on always being the kind of guy that will do whatever’s asked of me.
“If they want me to get the ball more and maybe score some touchdowns, I wouldn’t say no. But I’ll do what’s asked of me. That’s what got me where I am and that’s what’s going to continue to get me where I want to go.”
Bond, 27, is a 6-foot-7, 356-pounder out of the University of North Carolina who spent two seasons with the Bombers.
Selected by the Minnesota Vikings in the seventh round (214th overall) of the 2013 NFL draft, he also had stops in the NFL with the Carolina Panthers and St. Louis Rams.
Bond signed with the Bombers in March of 2016 and played 28 games at guard for them over the next two seasons. He was named a West Division and CFL all-star in 2016.
“He’s an awful good football player and can play a multitude of positions, both inside and outside,” Jones said. “Certainly he doesn’t lack for size, which I like.
“The thing about him is he’s one of those guys who gets up in the morning and likes to smash people.”
