June 13, 2018

Notebook: Micah Teitz has a mentor close at hand

Micah Teitz has followed in Sam Hurl’s footsteps before, so Teitz is more than happy to do it again.

Teitz, a 22-year-old product of Calgary, played linebacker at the University of Calgary after Hurl had starred with the Dinos. Now they’re teammates with the CFL’s Saskatchewan Roughriders.

“He left the U of C two years before I got there, so I always heard the legend about what he did there,” Teitz said Wednesday after the Roughriders held a closed practice at Mosaic Stadium. “Then I worked out with him in the off-season and, when I got drafted here, he was the first person to text me.

“It’s cool.”

Hurl, 28, noted that he and Teitz received the same kind of coaching at the U of C so they’re similar players. However, Hurl was quick to admit with a laugh that Teitz is “probably more athletic than I am.”

No matter how they compare, Hurl is willing to be a mentor for his first-year teammate.

“I’m here to help him out,” Hurl said recently. “He knows he can ask me any questions he needs.

“At the same time, I think a big part of this whole learning process is figuring it out on your own. It is good to have someone to look up to and someone to talk to, but a big part of it is just growing up and figuring it out on your own.”

Teitz was selected by Saskatchewan in the second round (14th overall) of the 2018 draft. He injured a hip flexor early in training camp and missed most of the first two weeks before finally returning to the field.

Despite that setback, he did enough to convince the coaches to keep him on the roster as opposed to returning him to the Dinos for his final university season.

“I was very pleased to crack the roster,” he said. “I had a bit of hard luck in training camp — I was out for about 10 days — but I feel like I impressed the coaches enough to make the team.

“It’s a really good experience. The whole time, I was planning to be on the team. I didn’t want to go back to school, so I was very relieved that I made it.”

The Roughriders’ national depth took a hit during camp with injuries to linebackers Brandyn Bartlett and Kevin Francis, so Teitz’s return from injury came at a good time for him and for the team.

The rookie is expected to be on the roster Friday when Saskatchewan opens its regular-season schedule against the visiting Toronto Argonauts.

“Athletically, he can play,” Roughriders head coach-GM Chris Jones said. “He’s a guy (who fits) body type-wise and (he has) good-enough speed to make and affect plays. He’s going to be a three- or four-teamer (on special teams) and he’ll end up being in the (defensive) rotation in the future.”

Teitz is eager to contribute however he can right away, so he has been asking questions of Hurl and his fellow linebackers as he tries to prepare for his rookie season.

He also feels a need to prove himself to his new team.

“I want to show that I was worth a high pick,” Teitz said. “Our No. 1 pick (offensive lineman Dakoda Shepley) didn’t come to camp this year (because he signed with the NFL’s New York Jets), so I want to show that I was the best guy they could have picked.”

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Jones was not at all impressed with the Roughriders’ offensive line after Friday’s 39-12 pre-season loss to the visiting Calgary Stampeders.

He suggested that reporters could have blocked better than Saskatchewan’s O-line did in the third quarter of the contest. Midway through that quarter, quarterback Zach Collaros was hammered — and that hit prompted Jones to throw out his planned QB rotation for the game.

Collaros and Brandon Bridge both absorbed big hits during the game, so right tackle Thaddeus Coleman heard Jones’ criticism loud and clear.

“When you’re getting your quarterback smacked in the mouth like that — they weren’t regular hits; they were getting hit hard — it’s a problem,” Coleman said. “(Jones’ criticism) was well-deserved. All we can do is go into this game and keep the quarterbacks clean.”

•••

The Roughriders rested a number of veterans during their pre-season games, including defensive ends Charleston Hughes and Willie Jefferson.

On Wednesday, Jones was asked if not playing that duo might lead to some rustiness when it comes time to play a regular-season game.

“I wouldn’t think so,” Jones replied. “They’ve been around for a long time and they got a lot of plays. I think Willie at last count got about 520 plays during camp and Charleston got just a few less than that. That’s a lot of plays to be getting in camp.”

Tailback Jerome Messam, who also was a spectator for both pre-season games, was on what Jones called “a pitch count” during camp. The Roughriders tried to rest Messam’s 33-year-old legs, so he often watched as internationals Tre Mason, Zac Stacy, David Cobb and Storm Johnson took snaps.

That won’t happen Friday.

“We’ve got two good backs who we’re going to be playing,” Jones said of Messam and Mason. “Both of them will be shouldering the load.”

•••

Jones reiterated Wednesday that the Argos will provide a good measuring stick for the Roughriders.

“Last year, they were a good-enough football team to finish the deal and play good late in the year,” he said of the defending Grey Cup champions. “Certainly, they’re very well-coached with a great quarterback, a very good defence and a great returner.

“You have to look far and wide for a weakness in their football team.”

That includes on the coaching staff, where Trestman (an offensive-minded coach) typically provides a test for Jones (a defensive guy).

“It is fun going against Coach Trestman and his staff because they do a very nice job of preparing their team,” Jones said. “They’re going to have adjustment after adjustment for you, so it’s fun to go against them.”