A first-round pick is first in line to step in for Kian Schaffer-Baker.
With Schaffer-Baker sidelined for the early part of the 2023 CFL season after undergoing surgery to repair a torn labrum, Samuel Elimus has earned abundant first-team reps at a wide receiver spot during Coors Light Riders Training Camp.
Emilus, drafted seventh overall in 2022, is having a strong camp as a second-year member of the Saskatchewan Roughriders. That cannot be at all surprising to Schaffer-Baker, who provided an effusive endorsement during an April 14 session with the media.
“That’s the guy right there,” Schaffer-Baker said of Emilus. “I’ve been talking with him a lot and I know he’s going to be ready to come in and fill that spot and take off with it.”
That he has.
“He’s getting better each day,” Head Coach Craig Dickenson said. “Year 2 is when these guys take off, and this is his second year, so I’m not surprised to see it.”
Emilus made 10 receptions for 165 yards as a rookie in 2022, when Schaffer-Baker registered team-high totals of 68 catches and 960 yards. And “Shake-and-Bake” did that despite the lingering effects of injury that had bothered him for a couple of years.
Eventually, the decision was made to undergo surgery. The recovery period will extend into the 2023 season, opening the door for Emilus to open some eyes.
“One of my priorities during the off-season was to improve on recognizing coverages and adjusting to the speed of the game,” he said. “I feel like I did a good job.
“I’m comfortable with the playbook already. I’m comfortable with the guys. I’m comfortable with the field size and everything. I’m just really ready to be on the field and show what I can do.”
It helps that the Montreal-born Emilus has been able to reacquaint himself with the three-down game and its various nuances after playing in the NCAA for four seasons.
“It was just a different type of football,” the former Louisiana Tech Bulldogs and UMass Minutemen pass-catcher said, “with me coming from the States and trying to adjust to Canadian football again.”
It was like a reunion with an old friend, considering that Emilus fell in love with the three-down version of football as a youngster.
“I grew up being big on sports,” he said. “I used to play soccer, hockey, football and basketball. I never knew what sport I really wanted to do. But once football clicked, I just took off from there.”
What made it click?
“I would say the physicality,” Emilus replied. “In other sports, you can’t really put your hands on a guy or put your will on another guy, so I would say that’s the biggest part where it’s fun. It’s legal, also.
“That was the point where it clicked and I was like, ‘Yeah, I like that sport. I love it.’ ”
Not only as a participant, but also as a fan.
Emilus grew up admiring the hometown Montreal Alouettes during some of their peak years.
“That was during the time with Anthony Calvillo and S.J. Green, when they went to the Grey Cup and won two in a row,” he recalled. “I was pretty big on the Alouettes at that time.”
Those two Grey Cup victories, though, were at the expense of Saskatchewan. Suffice to say that Emilus has changed his perception of the 2009 and 2010 championship games.
“Now I’m a Rider fan,” he said with a laugh. “Go Riders.”
WHAT A TRIPP!
Roughriders quarterback Trevor Harris and his wife, Kalie, are proud parents once again.
Tripp Joseph Harris was born on Thursday in Marion, Ohio.
He joins brothers Trenton, 6, and Trace, 3, on Team Harris.
Trevor Harris wrote on Instagram on Friday that Kalie “was an absolute rock star through labour and delivery! Trenton, Trace, Tripp and I are so blessed to have you as a mama/wifey. Amazing moment seeing the boys meet their new baby brother! Big thank-you to the Saskatchewan Roughriders organization for getting me back here in time!”
Harris flew from Saskatoon to Columbus, Ohio on Wednesday and proceeded directly to the hospital, where labour was induced later in the day.
He is to rejoin the team on Saturday, when the Roughriders play host to the B.C. Lions, but will not play.
The Roughriders’ coaches will use the pre-season game to appraise the three candidates for the No. 2 quarterback’s job: Mason Fine, Jake Dolegala and Shea Patterson.
QUARTERBACKING QUERY
Does Harris, a CFLer since 2012, have any advice for his understudies?
“Naah,” he replied with a chuckle before leaving for Ohio. “They’ve been successful. They’re professional quarterbacks.
“My first time ever getting to play, when I was with Toronto, the coach told me, ‘Make sure you get some pearls of wisdom from Ricky Ray.’ So I said to Ricky, ‘I’m supposed to ask you for some advice.’ He said, ‘Throw it to the guys in the blue jerseys.’ I was like, ‘Thanks, man.’
“At this point in our careers, we’re professional quarterbacks. They all know how to prepare and we’ve had really open dialogue.”
As part of those discussions, Harris has assuredly provided some valuable input that can benefit the Roughriders’ other three quarterbacks. But the discussions are back-and-forth in nature, as opposed to being lectures or tutorials.
“We’ve talked about the ins and outs of plays and certain things we can look for here and there,” Harris said.
“We’ve talked about certain plays that make us hot, where we’ve got to throw our cover-zero answer, and they’re ready to go.
“They’ve been great football players up to this point and they’re going to continue to be great.”
Dolegala is listed first on the positional chart for Saturday’s game, followed by Patterson and Fine.
“I’m not sure, but I think Jake is going to start the game,” Dickenson said on Friday. “Then it’s just rotation after that.
“They’re going to have to stay warm the entire game and do a good job of staying tuned-in, because it could be any one of those three at any time.”
DETAILS FROM DICKENSON
- Dickenson on the Roughriders’ looming pre-season lidlifter: “We’re excited. I know the rookies are really excited, because they’ve been here almost three weeks.”
- More Dickenson, on what he hopes will be an orderly outing on Saturday: “I want to see guys hustling in and out and being on the field when they’re supposed to be on the field. We’re trying to find guys we can count on. There are two evaluations in these pre-season games. Athletically, can they compete at this level? And then, can you trust them? That means ‘are they on the field when they’re supposed to be on the field?’ and ‘are they doing what they’re coached to do?’ ”
- Even more Dickenson, on what he expects from the offensive line versus B.C.: “I’m expecting a physical bunch. We put a big emphasis this off-season on finding physical, tough guys up front and that has been our emphasis in training camp. We want to be able to run the football. We expect to protect well. There will be some guys who will get beat. We just expect the quarterback to make (the reads) right when they do get beat. He’s got to get the ball out of his hands.”
DAKU DRENCHED
- Tyler Daku, the Roughriders’ Social Lead, celebrated a birthday on Friday. The occasion was commemorated by placekicker Brett Lauther, who gleefully doused young Tyler with water after the team’s morning walk-through at Griffiths Stadium.
- Tyler returned to Regina, along with the rest of us, on Friday. No word yet on whether he made his way to Regina on foot or in a vehicle. Tyler, you may recall, was recently lauded in this space for a pre-training-camp run that took him from Regina to Lumsden and then halfway back to the Queen City. The total distance: 45 kilometres.
- Tyler has also been a marathon man in a vocational capacity, posting this column (yes, it’s his fault) and virtually everything that is expertly produced by yours truly (OK, it’s actually my fault), Blake Tiedeman (Digital Media Producer) and Morgan Fleury (Digital Media Co-ordinator).
- Tyler, Blake, Morgan, Arielle Zerr (Director, Communications) and Thomas Judek (Communications Co-ordinator; Roommate Nonpareil) join this Cenozoic scribbler as part of our Training Camp Troop. What a joy and honour it is to work alongside these wonderful people and professionals.
