MontrealAlouettes.com
OTTAWA — The Montreal Alouettes will get their first taste of pre-season action on Thursday night as they head to Ottawa to take on the REDBLACKS.
The pre-season is an opportunity for each team to get a closer look at their entire team hoping to find a diamond in the rough that could crack the roster to start the regular season.
Montreal’s rookies will use this opportunity to impress bench boss Mike Sherman and co. as they fight for a spot on the team and that includes the offensive side of the ball that struggled in 2017.
Trey Rutherford, who was drafted second overall by the Alouettes this year, is one of those rookies looking to make an impact. The 289-pound offensive lineman can only hope to help Montreal’s big men up front as he gets set for his first taste of game action in the professional ranks. Rutherford played 12 games with UConn in 2017 and helped the Huskies rush for 100 yards or more on six occasions. Over his three-year career with the Huskies, the 6-foot-5, 312-pound lineman played in 34 total games.
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Trey Rutherford will likely see playing time on Thursday in Ottawa (MontrealAlouettes.com)
“Everything is new for him,” offensive line coach Paul Dunn told MontrealAlouettes.com. “It’s a very difficult transition for a rookie to make, coming into the pros. I think he’s adapting well, he’s got lots going through his mind, but I haven’t seen him carrying any water bottles yet. He’s fitting in great.”
While the team’s receiving group has dynamic speed and experience with Chris Williams, Ernest Jackson and B.J. Cunningham, six-foot-four, 25-year-old pass-catcher Jamal Robinson is hoping to show the coaches what he’s made of and how well he understands the nuances of the Canadian game.
“This opportunity means a lot to me,” said Robinson. “I’m ready to contribute and I’m learning that I can move on the line. The waggle is definitely a tool that I can use. The field is wide and I can use that to my advantage.”
Even before the announcement of Josh Freeman’s retirement, the quarterback situation in Montreal was all but settled.
Drew Willy and Matthew Shiltz will both be vying for the starting spot but rookie Garrett Fugate will also be fighting to move up the depth chart. The six-foot-three, 201-pound pivot played four seasons for the Central Missouri University Mules and was the team’s starter in his two final seasons. In his senior season, Fugate played in 12 games and completed 271 of his 425 passes for 2,214 yards and 31 touchdowns.
Despite never playing football north of the border, offensive coordinator Khari Jones says he likes what he’s seen so far from the 24-year-old.
“He looks good,” said Jones. “He hasn’t looked out of place so far, which can be very common among rookies. It’s a different game, different rules, but he looks like he belongs. He throws a good ball, he moves well and does all the things that you like to see in a quarterback. He’s thrown some good balls to Stephen Adekolu and Alton Howard. I’m excited to see him in a game.”
The test for these rookies, and the rest of the Alouettes roster, comes on Thursday night as they head north to Ottawa.
– With files from MontrealAlouettes.com.
