Alicia Wynter/Toronto Argonauts
Fraser Caldwell
Ticats.ca
For 18 days, the Black and Gold’s prospective players have drilled technique, scoured a playbook and lined up against one another at Ron Joyce Stadium in the hope of edging into the team’s final roster.
For more established players at training camp, the process has been less of a stressful audition than a welcome opportunity to shake off rust and reacquaint themselves with teammates. But for those young and inexperienced players who find themselves ‘on the bubble’, camp has been a perpetual proving ground with every practice repetition providing a chance to shine.
Now, with the Ticats’ tenure at McMaster behind them, invitees have one last opportunity to demonstrate their worth to the club when the Ticats take the field in Winnipeg on Wednesday night. The preseason tilt will stand as a make or break moment for many players in their quest to carve out a roster spot.
Craig Ray and Cody Husband are two such players, each looking to return from a year away from football and gain a foothold with the Black and Gold. For his part, Ray is understandably motivated to perform on Wednesday.
“I have a huge chip on my shoulder,” says the rookie safety. “I have a lot to prove and I’m ready to do it.
“I’ve wanted to play football for the last year,” says Husband, who spent the previous season on the injured list. “I just really want to get out on the field, get back out in front of the crowd and just show them what I can do.”
The Wednesday night match up with the Blue Bombers will be particularly important to Ray, who was not on the Ticats’ roster at the time of their only previous exhibition outing. The rookie defensive back is well aware that his first taste of game action will simultaneously serve as his biggest stage on which to perform.
“I’m really excited,” says Ray of the upcoming tilt. “All of this practice and everything is great to prepare, but when you’re on that field you forget about everything and you just play. You know your assignment, you know your keys, you know where you’ve got to be on each and every play and you go out there and have fun. That’s what the game is all about.
“It adds a lot to it, because this is my last chance but also my first. I didn’t play in that first game so I’ve got on chance to make the most of it. That’s what I’m going to do, go out there and play my best. I’ll control what I can and let the coaches take care of the rest.”
Husband echoes his teammate’s sentiment, eager in the knowledge that he will have the opportunity to test himself against the best that the Blue Bombers have to offer.
“It’s pretty much a matter of doing all that you can do,” says the rookie offensive lineman of his task on Wednesday. “You’ve got to leave everything on the field because Winnipeg’s going to put out their starting defensive line and you’ve just got to go out there and compete like you do every day.”
Regardless of their fates, both Ray and Husband take the opportunity to praise their experience at training camp, indicating that they learned much over the course of the 18-day combine.
“I learned a lot,” says Husband. “Every training camp you go into you try to learn. We’ve got an awesome offensive line coach in Doug Malone and he’s taught us a lot. You learn a lot from the vets like Marwan (Hage), Peter (Dyakowski) and Tim (O’Neill). I’ve learned a lot every year and it just makes me a better player.
“I definitely took a lot from it,” agrees Ray. “The coaches were great and the players were great helping me out with everything. There were some new schemes and new concepts with coverage and things like that. But for the most part I’ve got it all down and I’m ready to go tomorrow night.”
Such comfort with schematics is crucial for those players looking to use Wednesday’s contest as a platform for their own advancement. Husband emphasizes that in order to succeed, he and his teammates must know their roles and be able to effectively communicate to work well together.
“You’ve got to make sure that everyone is communicating and get your calls out,” says the first-year lineman. “Like everything, you’ve got to know what you’re doing and be ready to play ball.”
