ROBSERVATIONS: Riders boast top-tier tackle tandem … flipping is hip … last links to old stadium

Micah Johnson’s excitement stems from Rose.

Johnson and the recently signed Mike Rose give the Saskatchewan Roughriders a talented tandem of well-established defensive tackles.

Rival quarterbacks beware.

“It’s crazy,” Johnson says. “We’re salivating. We’ve literally talked every day since free agency.”

Rose, a three-time All-CFL performer with Calgary, signed with the Corey Mace-coached Saskatchewan side on Feb. 1 — five days after being released by the Stampeders.

Johnson, who in 2024 earned All-CFL laurels for the fourth time, re-signed with Saskatchewan on Feb. 7.

As a result of those two transactions — also involving Vice-President of Football Operations and General Manager Jeremy O’Day — Johnson and Rose have been reunited. They were teammates in 2017 and 2018.

“I was in Calgary when Mike came into the league,” Johnson recalls. “Mike was a D-end coming out. Right from when he showed up in Calgary, I was really hitting my stride as a D-tackle.

“When he came to Calgary and they moved him to D-tackle, I really took it upon myself to take him under my wing and show him a lot. For those years I was there, I was teaching Mike everything I could. It was just awesome to see how much he blossomed when I left.”

Thanks to Johnson and Rose, Calgary boasted an All-CFL tackle six times in a seven-season span. Johnson was recognized in 2016, 2017 and 2018. Rose made the league’s dream team in 2021, 2022 and 2023 before earning a divisional nod in 2024. (The 2020 CFL season was cancelled due to COVID-19.)

“Me and Mike have always kept in contact from the moment I left,” says Johnson, who signed with Saskatchewan as a free agent in 2019 and has since spent four of the past five seasons with the Roughriders.

“We talk multiple times a week. We’ve always talked throughout the season — and this is when we’re not on the same team.

“We’ve always game-planned and talked about what we saw from other offensive linemen. I would hit him up and tell him what he needs to do better, and vice versa. We were both playing at an all-star level, so that was cool.

“To see our relationship stand strong over the years and then have this opportunity pop up, it’s like, ‘Hell, yeah!’

“We were both all-stars last year and we’ve always talked about what we could do if we played together and what we could do to help each other out.”

And now, after all these years, they are teammates once again.

“I feel like both of us are going to have outstanding years, but I think somebody’s going to have one of those years that jump off the page,” Johnson says. “I’m cool with that being Mike if it means that I’m the one having to sacrifice.

“Just being able to work together, if you put two premier interior defensive linemen together who understand the game at the level we understand it and communicate at the level we can communicate, I think it’s going to be a lot of problems.

“There’s no doubt in my mind that we’ll be the best interior tandem.”

And the best of friends.

“I don’t think people understand how close a relationship we had (in Calgary),” Johnson says. “It starts back from when Mace was in the room, coaching us both (as the defensive line coach). Mike was just a young bull.

“We’ve continued to be very close friends, but we’d never had the opportunity to play with each other again. So I just think that’s crazy that the opportunity kind of popped up.

“When I saw Calgary released Mike, I thought, ‘What the hell?’ I just thought they gave somebody a lay-up. J.O. and Mace aren’t stupid. They were like, ‘I’ll take that lay-up. Thank you.’ ”

FLIPS ARE HIP

Mike McCullough was a reliable presence at training camp during the 11 seasons he spent with the Roughriders as a linebacker and special-teams standout.

But now he is a holdout.

He is still the proud owner of a flip phone — someone who steadfastly eschews the more technologically advanced forms of communication.

Why no iPhone?

“Just to spite the world,” McCullough replies. “Everybody says you have to have it. You don’t. I don’t need it. People have their face buried in their phone all the time.

“You don’t need to get a hold of everybody all the time. We were fine before. We got along for centuries without being able to get a hold of everybody in a second.”

Before speaking with McCullough, I presumed that his favourite flip phone was a relic from 2002. Little did I know that such devices are still manufactured and, in fact, easily available.

“I just got this one about a year ago at Walmart,” McCullough says. “It’s made by CAT. It’s all rubberized. You can probably drop it from two or three storeys and it will be good to go. This thing is made to last. It’s pretty intense. It’s got a little bit of heft to it, but it works.”

“Every two or three years, I bought (a different model) for $70 and it kept breaking. I kept hunting to find this one. This one’s not breaking.”

Much like his resolve.

McCullough, to this day, has not sent a text message. Take it from someone who knows.

A while back, I texted him an interview request. He replied by phoning. I mean, who does that?

“Never having sent a text and having a flip phone, it’s great,” McCullough says. “I think it’s fantastic.

“The more someone tries to tell me to do something, the less likely it is that I’m going to do it.

“You lose a lot in translation when you text. Why send 17 texts back and forth when I can call you and talk for eight seconds and figure out what we have to get done? I don’t understand it.”

MOSAIC MEMORIES

The aforementioned Micah Johnson is among seven current Roughriders players who took part in a CFL game at historic Mosaic Stadium.

Only three of those players, however, suited up at the erstwhile Taylor Field as a member of the home team.

Long snapper Jorgen Hus played for Saskatchewan at ol’ Mosaic in 2015 and 2016.

Recently signed cornerback Tevaughn Campbell also played at the since-demolished stadium in both of those seasons — with Calgary (2015) and Saskatchewan (2016). Previously, he was a member of the University of Regina Rams.

A la Campbell, offensive tackle Jermarcus Hardrick played Mosaic Stadium 1.0 as a member of the home side (2015) and the visiting team (Winnipeg Blue Bombers, 2016).

Johnson, quarterback Trevor Harris, guard Philippe Gagnon and centre Sean McEwen played here as visitors before the current facility officially opened in 2017.

The first regular-season game at Mosaic Stadium 2.0 included five players who are still active: Hus (Saskatchewan), Hardrick (Winnipeg), fullback Albert Awachie (Saskatchewan), guard Patrick Neufeld (Winnipeg) and defensive end Willie Jefferson (Winnipeg).

Andrew Harris, the starting running back for Winnipeg in that July 1, 2017 contest, now coaches that position for the Roughriders.

ROLL CREDITS …

• Nice people who deserve a plug: Angela Bailey, Micah Johnson, Tom Shepherd, Greg Yuel, Tommy Nield, Pat Nield, Zoe Nield, Georgia Nield, Cyndi Cherney, Dr. Mark Talbot, Dr. Ashley Neumeier, Brad Milne, Dr. Tom Robinson, Albert Awachie, Jacob Brammer, Greg Milne, Brooke Kosolofski, Bill Liskowich, Craig Adam and Marj Fischer.