The interview was rollin’ from the moment Joshua Bell was asked about Rolan Milligan Jr.
“Ohhhh … Agent Zero!” Saskatchewan Roughriders Pass Game Co-ordinator and Defensive Backs Coach Joshua Bell said with a smile.
Bell proceeded to effusively praise Milligan, who is preparing to wear his accustomed No. 0 jersey and start at defensive halfback in Saturday’s regular-season opener against the host Edmonton Elks (2 p.m., TSN, CKRM).
Even before joining the Roughriders’ coaching staff this past off-season, Bell was an admirer of Milligan Jr.
“It’s about what he is and who he is as a man,” Bell explained. “His play exemplified that already.
“He has been my man-crush for a long time — for a couple of years. Being able to come here and be blessed with his presence is already a Merry Christmas.
“With his work ethic and his humility and how well he hunts his opponent, it has been amazing to see it live and in living colour.”
Milligan Jr. is preparing to don the green and white in CFL regular-season play for the first time since July 6, when he suffered a toe injury in a 12-11 victory over the visiting Elks. Surgery was required to repair ligament damage.
Saskatchewan had a 3-1 record with Milligan Jr. in the lineup last season. Over those four games, he registered two interceptions and a key stop on a third-and-goal quarterback sneak.
Eleven months after his most-recent regular-season game, he is counting down the minutes until Saturday afternoon.
“I’m ready to play,” Milligan Jr. said. “It has been a long wait. I’m just ready to get back out there with my guys and go make plays and have fun.”
That mentality also served him well in 2022 — his first full season as a Roughrider.
He was third on the team in defensive tackles (71) and total defensive plays (82) in addition to registering one interception, one sack, one forced fumble, one fumble and eight pass knockdowns.
The latter stat placed him one behind league co-leaders Wesley Sutton (Montreal Alouettes), Richard Leonard (Hamilton Tiger-Cats) and Jamal Peters (Toronto Argonauts).
Peters was coached at the time by Corey Mace, who spent two seasons as the Argonauts’ Defensive Co-ordinator before being named the Roughriders’ Head Coach on Nov. 30.
Mace, who doubles as Saskatchewan’s Defensive Co-ordinator, quickly developed an appreciation for Milligan Jr., one that is shared by his teammates.
“Ro was voted one of our team captains,” Mace said. “He comes to work professionally every day. Having him on the field is always going to be a good thing for our team.
“There’s his excitement. Even when we started camp, we kind of slowed him down. We said, ‘Just a couple of reps here.’ He said, ‘Come on!’ He was itching.
“We’re just happy that he’s out there and able to make some plays and we’re really looking forward to him playing on the weekend.”
Milligan Jr., however, doesn’t look upon his imminent return to the lineup as being anything momentous.
“It’s not about what I’m doing,” he said with trademark modesty. “It’s about being able to play, period.
“You never know when it’s going to be gone, so just having the privilege of being able to play every week is something I appreciate.
“It’s a blessing, more than anything, being able to come back and feel as good as I did before I was injured.”
That being done, Milligan Jr. can get even better.
“As a coach, I want to ask him to do so much more, because I think he’s capable of being outrageously great,” Bell said.
“I think he can still go to another level so, as a coach, you just don’t want to mess it up. You want to make sure that you give him enough information so that he can make informed decisions and be in command of the defence on the field.”
Any morsel of information is invaluable to a cerebral player such as Milligan Jr., who has devoted some time to picking the brain of another erudite member of the team — Trevor Harris.
“You love to see your DBs talking to your quarterbacks,” Bell said. “The quarterback runs the offence and he is the offence.
“When a DB understands more and more of what the quarterback sees and his thought process, it helps the DB so much more.
“To see a DB doing that, he’s just another extension of the coaching staff. That’s what you want as a coach. That’s what you dream up.
“You want to have guys who you trust see the game a similar way. And then, when they go on the field, they can actually make adjustments on their own, without the coach.”
The coach, however, reserves the right to applaud.
