Communication has been vital to the success of the Saskatchewan Roughriders’ middle linebacker this season.
Sam Hurl, who started the 2018 CFL campaign at that spot, talks regularly with Cameron Judge, who has been getting more playing time at that position in recent weeks.
“He’s someone who I can always ask questions,” Judge, 23, said after Thursday’s practice at Mosaic Stadium. “If I’m unclear of something, I ask him or get some pointers from him while we’re watching film. He has been really helpful for me this year.”
Judge is in his second season with the Roughriders, who selected him in the first round (second 
overall) of the 2017 draft out of UCLA. He played in just three games in ’17 due to a shoulder injury that required season-ending surgery — and those three games primarily were spent on special teams.
Hurl, 28, is in his seventh CFL season. When the University of Calgary product suits up for Saturday’s game against the B.C. Lions at Mosaic Stadium (5 p.m., CKRM, TSN), it’ll be the 108th game of his CFL career.
Hurl began his run with the Roughriders in 2012 and spent three seasons with them before joining the Winnipeg Blue Bombers in 2015. After three campaigns with the Bombers, he signed as a free agent with Saskatchewan in February.
Roughriders head coach-GM Chris Jones said Hurl’s signing had more to do with his ability to play multiple positions on special teams and defence than it did his ability to mentor a player like Judge. That said …
“Cam Judge is a smart-enough guy to look around at a guy who is a vet and learn from him,” Jones said.
Hurl and Judge sit beside each other in the Roughriders’ locker room, which allows Hurl to provide insight to his younger teammate. Linebacker Sam Eguavoen also is in the vicinity, so he and Hurl have tried to be resources for Judge.
“If Cam has questions, he knows he can ask us,” Hurl said. “If there is something we think he can do better, we tell him.”
That’s not to say that Hurl is continually telling Judge what to do. The veteran believes that on-the-job training is more beneficial to a younger player than having someone in his ear all the time.
“I try to (mentor Judge) a bit, but ultimately what I think this game is all about is getting the experience on the field and getting those reps,” Hurl said.
“I try to help him out in little things here and there that I see, but it comes down to getting the reps over and over and becoming familiar with what’s happening on the field.”
Those opportunities have become more and more prevalent for Judge.
After seeing duty as Hurl’s backup in the early stages of the 2018 regular season, Judge is more likely to start games now — and the change in responsibilities is evident on the stats sheet.
Over Saskatchewan’s first 10 games, Hurl had 31 tackles and Judge had 19. Over the team’s past seven games, Judge had 21 tackles and Hurl had 10.
Entering the Roughriders’ final game of the regular season, Hurl is sixth on the team with 49 defensive plays (41 tackles, six special-teams stops, two tackles for losses) and Judge is seventh with 48 defensive plays (40 tackles, three special-teams tackles, two sacks, one forced fumble, one knockdown and one tackle for loss).
Judge’s volume of stats may be increasing, but his volume isn’t.
“He’s a quiet guy,” Jones said. “You never know he’s in the room. You never know he’s on your football team until game day. All you do is see him do a lot of really good things.”
And Hurl expects that to continue.
“The more he gets to understand the game and how things move and the more experience he gets, the better he’ll become,” Hurl said. “I know he’ll continue to develop as a great player in this league.”
Judge believes the biggest progression he has made this season is in his understanding of the CFL game and teams’ tendencies — and his background makes it easy to see why he faced a learning curve.
He was born in Montreal and played minor football in the Vancouver area, but his high school training occurred in Thousand Oaks, Calif. Then he went to UCLA, so his formative years in football were spent in the United States.
Combine that with the injury Judge suffered last season and it’s easy to see why he’s still figuring out the CFL.
“I think I’ve done a pretty decent job this year,” he said. “There are still some things to improve on, of course, and places I can get better. But so far, I’ve been getting better each week.”
He can thank Hurl for helping him, even though that assistance cost the veteran some playing time.
“Me not helping somebody isn’t going to help me,” Hurl said. “If I can try to spread what I know about the game and try to be positive in helping other people become better, it’ll make me better.”
