Riderville.com
VERO BEACH, FLA. — Darian Durant and Brett Smith look to keep the momentum going on Monday in Vero Beach, Fla., as they take part in Day 2 of the Riders’ annual three-day mini-camp.
Durant and Smith are the veterans among rookies and negotiation list players taking part, as Head Coach and General Manager Chris Jones gets an extended look at some potential training camp invites come early June.
So far Jones says he’s happy with what he’s seen both from his quarterbacks and his rookies, particularly on the offensive side of the ball.
“I thought the offence was very sharp,” said Jones. “We didn’t take any time counts, we got all the plays in. We give ‘em 20 seconds and we’re going double barrel back and forth, and I thought the quarterbacks threw the ball pretty decent.”
While the receivers had a step on the defensive backs, who Jones pointed out still have some getting used to the waggle, the receivers and DBs for the most part put on a strong showing. The same goes for the offensive and defensive linemen, despite the drills being non-contact.
“Whether it’s the best group or not, I think it’s pretty close,” said Jones. “We’re long, we’re athletic and there are a lot of 6-foot-1 DBs and 6-foot-2, 6-foot-3 receivers and guys that can really run and get open.
“I liked the big guys, I thought there were four or five guys that really stood out and were long and were athletic.
“It’s an impressive group.”
Most promising for Riders fans might be the look of Durant, who showed no ill effects of a season-ending injury suffered late last June.
“I thought he did a real nice job,” Jones said of his franchise pivot. “We made it hard on him, trying to give him a short clock and see if he can get us in and out of the huddle and he did an outstanding job calling the plays.
“We expect him to do some really good things, hopefully the recovery continues to go well.”
The Riders are the first team to take part in a mini-camp this season, while four other teams have already announced plans to do the same before the end of April. Tuesday morning marks the third and final session for the Riders, which can be streamed live on CFL.ca via Riderville.com.
