The Roughriders’ Cameron Judge is ready for a starring role

SASKATOON — Cameron Judge is hoping to be done with cameos.

During a chat Tuesday, the Saskatchewan Roughriders’ second-year linebacker discussed what it’s like to grow up around the show business industry. His dad (Christopher) is an actor and his mom (Margaret) was a model.

Christopher Judge is perhaps best known for his role on Stargate SG-1, so Cameron was asked if he ever appeared as an extra on the TV show.

“I think I was in the very far background one time of an explosion, running away,” he said with a laugh following a training-camp workout at the University of Saskatchewan’s Griffiths Stadium. “If you zoom in quite a bit, you might be able to see me.”

The 23-year-old product of UCLA is hoping to have an expanded role with the CFL’s Roughriders in 2018.

Saskatchewan selected Judge in the first round (second overall) of the 2017 draft, but he didn’t report to them until after training camp. He missed camp in Saskatoon because he was completing his political science degree and attending graduation ceremonies at UCLA.

The 6-foot-2, 235-pounder then survived a crash course on the Roughriders’ defensive and special-teams schemes and was ready in time for the regular-season opener. But he made it through only three games before suffering a season-ending shoulder injury.

Judge, who recorded four special-teams tackles in his short time on the roster, had surgery and spent the remainder of the season rehabilitating the shoulder.

“It’s unfortunate anytime you have a guy who’s a young player who gets injured because it just sets them back an entire year,” Roughriders head coach-GM Chris Jones said Tuesday. “That’s exactly what it does.”

Judge admitted that 2017 was “pretty frustrating,” but he made it through with a little help from his friends.

That’s not to say there weren’t difficult moments. Judge had a memorable Twitter rant in September in which he seemed to infer that he was retiring, but nothing came of that threat.

“It was tough,” Judge said of the mental aspect of the injury, “but I talked to the people who I love and who care for me and I was able to get over some of the things that had been bothering me and get my head back on straight.”

And now he’s looking to put 2017 behind him.

“Missing all that time definitely stuck with me,” he said. “I’m just out here trying to earn respect and carve out a role on the defence as well as special teams.”

Judge has been playing weak-side linebacker during training camp as well as working on the Roughriders’ coverage teams.

He had two defensive tackles and a quarterback pressure in a 35-12 pre-season loss to the Edmonton Eskimos on Sunday, when he got to play more in the absence of starting Will linebacker Sam Eguavoen.

Jones repeatedly has said Saskatchewan will have a national linebacker on the field at all times this season, so that could mean more playing time for Judge.

That would be fine by him, especially since he feels he has something to prove as a former first-round draft pick.

“But that’s not the main focus in my mind,” Judge noted. “I don’t want to be putting too much pressure on myself. I just try to be the best player that I can, try to do the right thing every play and try to give as much effort as I can and the rest will take care of itself.”

Judge was born in Montreal and also lived in Vancouver and Victoria as a youngster. He attended high school in Thousand Oaks, Calif., before moving on to UCLA.

Christopher played football at the University of Oregon, suiting up for the Ducks from 1982 to ’85. Cameron has only heard the stories of his dad’s exploits, though; he hasn’t seen any game film of Christopher in action.

“I’ve been trying to but I’ve never got my hands on some,” Cameron said. “From what I’ve heard, he was quite the physical player. (He was) a big safety. I try to take a lot of notes from what he has told me over my life on how to be physical.”

Christopher got into acting in 1990 and landed the role of Teal’c on Stargate SG-1 in 1997. He spent roughly a decade on the show.

When Cameron was asked Tuesday if he had a Stargate poster on his wall as a kid, he started laughing.

“No, I wasn’t too big on the show,” he admitted. “It was fun to go on set and stuff, but I never watched too many episodes.”

Christopher has had other roles since his run on the show ended, including voice work on the recently released God of War video game. His work in the entertainment industry still trickles down to Cameron.

“A couple of my teammates will have watched his shows and, when I get to a new team, they always bring it up and get a few laughs,” Judge said. “It’s cool.”