October 14, 2018

Josiah St. John steps into the breach

WINNIPEG — Josiah St. John was crushed to see Dariusz Bladek carted off the turf at Investors Group Field on Saturday.

But since the show must go on, the left knee injury suffered by Bladek represented an opportunity for St. John.

The 26-year-old Toronto product stepped in at right guard on the Saskatchewan Roughriders’ offensive line with 8:29 left in the second quarter and got extensive playing time the rest of the way in Saskatchewan’s 31-0 CFL loss to the Winnipeg Blue Bombers.

“I’m really close to Bladek, so to see him go down was heartbreaking for a lot of us,” St. John said after the contest. “But it’s next man up and I’ve got to be ready to play. It’s tough coming off the bench, but I’ve still got to be ready to play in that instance.”

“I was proud of Josiah hopping in there in a hostile environment,” noted Roughriders head coach-GM Chris Jones. “You didn’t hear his name getting continually called, so he must have done some things right.”

St. John primarily has been a reserve O-lineman since being selected in the first round (first overall) of the 2016 CFL draft out of the University of Oklahoma.

He didn’t join the Roughriders until July 4 of 2016 due to a contract holdout, but eventually dressed for 10 regular-season games that season.

In 2017, he was a healthy scratch for Saskatchewan’s first 16 regular-season games, dressed for one contest and then was on the injured list for the final contest of the regular season.

This season, the 6-foot-5, 309-pounder spent the first third of the regular season on the six-game injured list and then was one of two reserves for Saskatchewan’s seventh game. He made his debut Aug. 19 against the Calgary Stampeders and has been the sixth man ever since.

St. John has seen spot duty this season — most notably, he rotated with Bladek during a game Sept. 30 against the Montreal Alouettes — but mostly has been a backup. It has been predominantly that way since he was drafted.

“It has been tough,” St. John said of having to wait. “It’s really just injuries at the wrong times. Getting hurt and missing camp or getting a concussion at the beginning of camp and missing the last week of camp, it has been certain things.

“Every time I feel like I’m on the cusp, something like a setback happens. Hopefully Coach trusts me to play me next week (Saturday in Calgary) and I can get the ball rolling a little bit playing.”

He certainly has ground to make up on some of the players who were selected after him in the 2016 draft.

Players like Hamilton Tiger-Cats offensive lineman Brandon Revenberg (first round, third overall), Calgary linebacker Alex Singleton (first round, sixth overall), Stamps receiver Juwan Brescacin (second round, 15th overall) and Bombers safety Taylor Loffler (third round, 19th overall) all have established themselves as starters in the CFL.

St. John, meanwhile, has heard people wonder why the first-overall selection wasn’t playing.

“At first, it used to bother me a lot because I’m a first-round pick (and) I do want to come in and show my worth and that I was a good pick,” he said. “Obviously it’s pride. I want to be the best player in my draft class … and we had a lot of good players come out of that draft class.

“It was tough at first, but I have to play my role. I’ve got to do what’s best for the team in this instance. I had my role playing the sixth man and being a relief man is the best situation for my team right now.”

Jones repeatedly has said that St. John has shown more commitment in the weight room since being drafted, which has impressed the Roughriders’ coaching staff.

For St. John, getting bigger and stronger while maintaining his quickness has been important — but not quite as important as the other progress he has made.

“When I was a rookie, I didn’t really understand the game,” he said. “Now, just being around Blue (Brendon LaBatte), Thad (Coleman) and the veterans, they really helped me to understand the game, how football is really played and (it’s) not just (about) being a good athlete. I’ve become more of a football player.”

Injuries forced the Roughriders to make two changes to their offensive line heading into Saturday’s game. With centre Dan Clark on the limp, LaBatte moved from left guard to centre and Philip Blake started at left guard.

Now, with Bladek out, someone will have to start at right guard in Calgary — and St. John is hoping he did enough in his audition Saturday to earn that opportunity.

“Whatever’s best for the team is what (the coaches) are going to do and that’s what I’m going to roll with also,” he said. “I would hope that they trust me enough to let me play. It’s up to them.”

The Roughriders’ other options include activating off the one-game injured list Terran Vaughn (who started the season at left tackle before being supplanted by Takoby Cofield), turning to a practice-roster player like Mathieu Breton, Chris Schleuger or Braden Schram, or bringing in another O-lineman.

LaBatte believes St. John is ready to take on a larger role based on his showing Saturday.

“It was good to see him get in there and get a few plays of actual good game experience under his belt,” LaBatte said. “I think he did some good things, so he’s got a lot of good things to build off of.”