Memo to Hope Teitz: A proud son wishes you a Happy Mother’s Day.
In fact, it was a happy day all around for Saskatchewan Roughriders linebacker Micah Teitz.
He was back on the field Sunday, when Coors Light Riders Training Camp opened at Griffiths Stadium, after missing the entire 2022 CFL season due to a serious groin injury.
“It just feels good to be back out here,” Teitz said with a smile after the first day of main camp. “I’ve had some bad luck in Saskatoon, so we’ll look to make it better this year.”
At last year’s training camp, Teitz walked off the field May 21 and was not able to return.
A lingering injury from late in the 2021 season — in which he was named the Roughriders’ Most Outstanding Canadian — eventually required surgery.
“It was kind of a hangover from the last season into the next season,” said Teitz, who was hurt in the CFL’s 2021 West Division semi-final. “We were working hard to get it right, and it just wasn’t going to work for the season.”
Hence the work during the off-season — an intensive regimen that resulted in Teitz being back on the field for Day 1 of camp.
“It feels like I’ve been off and on, because there was the year (2020) in which we missed football due to COVID and then I had the good year in ’21 and then a year off again,” he noted.
“It feels like I’m in that pattern, but if history repeats itself, I’m looking forward to this season coming up as well.”
There has been one major change since Teitz last suited up for the Roughriders. He and his wife, Maddie, exchanged wedding vows March 4 in Calgary.
“She has been awesome,” Teitz said. “She has been the person I can always rely on.
“Any partner of a football player can agree with me on this. It’s such a rollercoaster sport and, even when you’re perceived to be at the top, you’ve got other stuff going on. It’s just so important to have someone to keep you level all the time and that’s what she does for me.”
After the couple enjoyed a honeymoon in the Dominican Republic, preparations for the 2023 CFL season were accelerated a notch or two.
“We’ve got a big group of guys who train together in Calgary and we were counting down the days to training camp every single day,” said Teitz, who starred for the University of Calgary Dinos before being selected by Saskatchewan in the second round (14th overall) of the 2018 CFL Draft.
“We were all ready for it. It was more important for me, though. I got a calendar and I was crossing the days off.”
And then, come Sunday, the countdown finally reached zero.
“I was a little bit nervous,” Teitz acknowledged. “I’m not even going to lie. I was wondering how I was going to be moving and everything, but that’s just mainly in your head, thinking more about yourself.”
The focus soon shifted, especially when Teitz began working alongside three-time All-Star linebacker Larry Dean.
Dean was sidelined for Teitz’s breakout year of 2021 due to a torn Achilles tendon. When Dean returned to the field with a flourish in 2022, registering 101 defensive tackles to finish second in the league in that category, it was Teitz’s turn to recover from a major injury.
“It’s nice to play with Larry,” Teitz said. “I haven’t gotten the opportunity to play with him, ever, so it was really cool to just suit up with him.
“He’s such a great player and a great leader. He’s always helping me on the field and everything like that, too, so I think we’ll make a really good duo this year.”
Along the way, Teitz and his teammates hope to erase memories of the non-playoff season of 2022.
“It was so tough to just sit and watch the whole year, especially because we didn’t have the success that we wanted to as a team,” he said. “I really feel that I could have contributed and helped the team out.
“We’re not looking to just make the playoffs or just barely get in. We’re looking to be the best team in the CFL every year, so I think I can help with that.”
So does the Roughriders’ Head Coach.
“I could tell that he was thrilled to be out there,” Craig Dickenson said of Teitz. “It has been a long road to recovery for him and I think he’s ready to roll.”
