ROBSERVATIONS: Runnin’ back to Saskatoon for training camp … welcoming a new Commissioner … flag-free Ferland!
With training camp fast approaching, everyone here is itching to get started.
There was a time when the itching persisted.
“I remember my first training camp (in Saskatoon), specifically when we went on the field,” Saskatchewan Roughriders Vice-President of Football Operations and General Manager Jeremy O’Day recalls, rewinding to 1999 and his introduction to the Green and White as a player.
“I remember how many mosquitoes were biting me when I got on the practice field. We practised on grass.”
Not anymore. The artificial turf at Saskatoon’s Griffiths Stadium will again provide a fine foundation for the Roughriders’ initial workouts.
It was announced on Tuesday that the Green and White has extended its long-standing arrangement with the University of Saskatchewan to hold Coors Light Training Camp on-campus. The lengthened deal covers the 2025, 2026 and 2027 camps.
“I love it,” O’Day says. “I think it’s a great opportunity for us to get out of Regina for a few weeks and make sure that the province knows that we’re the Saskatchewan Roughriders.”
A comparable message was conveyed by then-Roughriders President Alan Sangster on April 28, 1972, when the team announced that camp would be held in Saskatoon for the first time.
Two-a-day workouts (back when they were a thing) returned to the U of S a decade later, beginning an uninterrupted, 11-year run at Griffiths Stadium.
Spring sessions were held at Taylor Field in 1993 and 1994 before Saskatoon was again the destination in 1995.
It was back to Regina in 1996 before Saskatoon became the springtime home of the Roughriders from 1997 to 2002.
The subsequent 10 camps were based in Regina before Saskatoon again beckoned to begin what turned out to be the championship season of 2013.
Since then, only one training camp — the COVID-restricted event of 2021 — has been earmarked for Regina.
This year’s camp will be the 30th in Saskatoon.
“The U of S and Saskatoon are great hosts,” O’Day says. “It’s kind of the foundation of our team for the year, so we bring in our rookies and spend a couple of days with them and then the vets roll in. Then we get rolling on the 2025 season.
“We’re excited about coming back. Hopefully the players are, too. I know there’s a little work to do to pack everything up and bring it up to Saskatoon, but it’s worth it.”
STEW’S NEW
Craig Reynolds offers a glowing review of Stewart Johnston, who will become the CFL’s 15th Commissioner when he succeeds Randy Ambrosie on April 24.
“It’s exciting,” the Roughriders’ President-CEO says. “I’ve had a chance to meet Stewart just a couple of times, but I’ve always been impressed with him.”
Johnston, 54, joined TSN in 1997 and within a decade had ascended to the role of Vice-President of Programming. He was promoted to network President in 2010 before becoming the Senior Vice-President of Sports and Sales in 2021.
“He has an incredible reputation in the sports media landscape,” Reynolds says.
“He has been around the CFL for so many years with TSN, but when you talk to people who have had serious interactions with Stew or have worked at TSN or know him more deeply, they just talk about the quality of person that he is and his leadership qualities. So I’m really excited.
“I think Stewart has got the right skill set and what we need at this time to really move the league forward. I’m really looking forward to working with him.”
At the same time, there is appreciation for the contributions Ambrosie has made in nearly eight years as Commissioner.
“I think Randy has left the CFL in really good shape,” Reynolds says. “You see where Randy has left the league in terms of the big markets. We’ve seen really good growth there from a fandom perspective.
“I think the product is outstanding. The entertainment value of our game nowadays is second to none, so I think it’s in great shape.
“Having said that, there are always opportunities for growth and I think Stewart has a great mindset for that.”
He is also eminently qualified to be a key player in the league’s next broadcast agreement. The current deal with TSN is to expire after the 2026 season.
“Obviously, everybody’s talking about our future media rights,” Reynolds says when asked about what challenges Johnston might face. “That’s an opportunity. I wouldn’t call it a challenge.
“I think the game is in great shape. The product is in great shape, so I don’t think there’s a lot of work that needs to be done there.
“Obviously, growing revenue is important. For everybody across the country in all our businesses, the costs are all rising, so you need to have revenue growth to keep pace with that so the league is sustainable.
“I think Stewart knows that and he has got some great experience in terms of growing partnerships and his experience with Bell Media. I think he has a great skill set for that.”
NON-HOLDING PATTERN
Rare is the day when eye-popping statistics are attached to an offensive lineman.
Given the nature of the position, they do not compile gaudy yardage totals or score a steady stream of touchdowns.
That said, there are few stats to rival one numerical nugget that pertains to the Roughriders’ Logan Ferland.
“Over the last 47 games, Logan has only been penalized twice,” O’Day notes. “That speaks to his discipline as a player.”
Ferland’s excellence as a player led to Tuesday’s announcement that he had signed a two-year contract extension, obligating him to Saskatchewan through the 2027 season. His previous deal was to expire after the 2025 campaign.
Ferland is coming off a 2024 season in which he was flagged only once in 20 games (playoffs included).
The year before, he was penalty-free over the Roughriders’ 18 games.
In 2022, Ferland had been assessed only one penalty — a holding call that was declined — over the final nine contests.
To what does he attribute the paucity of penalties?
“I would say guys get lucky for sure, sometimes,” Ferland, invariably modest, says with a chuckle. “That definitely adds to some of it. J.O. would have said the same thing, I’m sure, when he was playing.
“We get away with lots as well, but I do hang my hat on being cool and calm in the right moments.”
Ferland’s reliability in that regard is underlined by more numbers — kindly provided by Video Assistant Mike Woytowich.
Ferland has been flagged only twice over his last 2,562 snaps, dating back to the midpoint of the 2022 campaign.
That brings us to another stat: Ferland has not been penalized on 99.92 per cent of the plays on which he been a part over the past 2½ seasons.
It stands to reason, then, Ferland was named the Roughriders’ Most Outstanding Offensive Lineman in 2022, 2023 and 2024.
Last year, he earned All-CFL recognition and was named the West Division’s top offensive lineman.
ROLL CREDITS …
• Nice people who deserve a plug: Brenda Edwards, Paula Branscombe, Fred Hill, Jason Ryder, Charbel Dabire, Mitch Picton, Paula Dupont, Logan Ferland, Ryan Ferland, Beau Ferland, Kate Baker Simpson, Morgan Fleury, Rhett Dawson, Courtney Wagner, Thomas Judek, Aaron Anderson, Pete Paczko, Lauren Anderson, Mick Panko, Jill Stroeder, Terry Young, Cal Filson, Marco Ricci, Bryan Schlosser, Ryan Dahlman, Dean Gutheil, Jeff Yausie, Kasen Thomson, Sharon Clarke and Mike Woytowich.
