Esks.com
CFL.ca Staff
EDMONTON — After an off-season of scouting and searching for diamonds in the rough, the spring minicamp is the first close look CFL teams get at newly added talent.
It may not be training camp yet, but as Edmonton Eskimos’ general manager Ed Hervey suggests, it may as well be. For the less proven players, a second chance isn’t likely.
“It’s survival of the fittest,” says Hervey. “You come down there, you should be in the best shape of your life because if you go down there and pull a hamstring or sustain some sort of injury, you pretty much write your own ticket out the door.”
The Eskimos hold their minicamp from April 17 to 19 in Vero Beach, Fla. hoping to get a closer look at some of the newer talent they’ve assembled over the off-season.
Wearing helmets but not shoulder pads, players compete against one another for three days. The best are invited for a chance to further compete at training camp in June.
“Depth, depth, depth – that is the motto around here,” says Hervey. “And the only way you can find that depth is having that depth compete against one another.”
“We’re looking forward to going down to Vero Beach, spending time with staff and the players and the beauty is it’s the same offence, same defence – same everything,” he adds. ”There’s consistency there.”
It’s not just a tryout. It’s also an opportunity for players new to the CFL to begin settling in and understanding the Canadian game – players that have never seen this kind of football before. They get to compete against players in the same situation.
“Young players that are coming in have the opportunity to learn the offence in somewhat of a stress-free environment without the vets being around,” says Hervey. “But it’s still a stressful environment because you’re only given so many days to prove that you can earn an opportunity to come to training camp.”
The end goal is to bring these players to training camp and ultimately create competition for not only roster spots, but starting jobs.
Both Hervey and Chris Jones are known for pushing competition as a means for improvement.
“In the end, whichever players we end up bringing to camp we feel confident will be able to come in and compete to not only push our veterans, but compete to earn a roster spot and potentially more.”
