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May 24, 2016

Foundation in place

It’s been, to say the least, an intriguing off-season for the Calgary Stampeders.

As a result, much of the discussion about the team’s winter activities and developments has focused on the players who won’t be on the McMahon Stadium turf when main training camp gets under way on Sunday.

That’s certainly understandable considering how long chaps like Jon Cornish, Juwan Simpson, Keon Raymond, Jabari Arthur and Randy Chevrier have been around these parts, how much they meant to the community and the significance of their contributions to the franchise including helping the Stamps win Grey Cups in 2008 and 2014.

Also, Eric Rogers was in Stamps colours a relatively short time but he certainly made a dramatic impact as he played a key role in the 2014 championship and was the best receiver in the CFL in 2015.

Matt Walter, Karl McCartney, Jeff Fuller and Freddie Bishop III are a few of the other players who will be conspicuous by their absence on Day 1 of camp.

But take another close look around and you’ll quickly realize you’re still in very familiar territory with a lot of recognizable faces.

Photo by David Moll

Rob Cote, who first joined the Stamps in 2007? Yep, he’s still here.

Rene Paredes and Rob Maver, a pair of all-stars who constitute the longest-serving active kicking tandem in the CFL? Uh-huh, there they are in side-by-side lockers in the corner of the room.

Bo Levi Mitchell, the 2014 Grey Cup MVP and one of the brightest stars in the game? Yeah, y’all know that he’s the guy under centre again this coming season.

Charleston Hughes, who has been terrorizing enemy quarterbacks since 2008? There he is over there sporting yet another different hairstyle and that familiar No. 39.

Jerome Messam, one of only three CFLers who hit the 1,000-yard mark in rushing in 2015? Just look for a really big shadow and you’ll find that bulldozer of a running back.

Brandon Smith, who’s been playing big-time football for the Stamps for a long time and yet somehow never seems to get as much attention and acclaim as he deserves? He’s back again.

Joshua Bell, Spencer Wilson and Pierre Lavertu, who all earned West Division all-star honours in 2015? Yes, yes and yes.

Do the math and you’ll realize there are 32 players on the Stamps’ training-camp roster who made starts for the Red and White in 2015. Make it 34 if you include linebacker Taylor Reed and receiver Bakari Grant, a couple of free-agent acquisitions from Hamilton over the winter.

That’s a good group to pull from when you have 24 starting positions — 12 on each side of the ball — to fill.

Throw in players such as Maleki Harris, Karl Lavoie, Tory Harrison and Kamar Jorden — who didn’t get into the starting lineup a year ago but are very highly thought of by the coaching staff — and you can conclude that there’s still a very solid foundation in place.

That’s certainly not to minimize the loss of the players who are gone but Dave Dickenson, who takes over as head coach after serving as offensive coordinator and assistant head coach to John Hufnagel, prefers to ignore any anxiety about change and embrace the excitement of new opportunities.

“Change can cause stress,” he concedes, “but it can also bring positive energy and the opportunity to start fresh. There is no reason to make changes just for the sake of change and I feel we have the right mix of leaders and talent to get back to our goal — hoisting the Grey Cup.”

Coach Dickenson during the Stamps Pinkpower game on Oct. 10, 2015 (Photo by David Moll)

It’s only natural for Stamps fans to have felt pangs of sadness when stars such as Henry Burris, Nik Lewis, Joffrey Reynolds and Dimitri Tsoumpas retired or moved on to other teams during the Huff era. But new stars such as Mitchell, Cornish, Rogers, Bell, Marquay McDaniel, Deron Mayo and Shane Bergman stepped in very nicely, the team has continued to win consistently and the scouting staff is always hard at work finding the next gems.

Stability in the coaching ranks will go a long way towards helping in any transition phase in 2016. Hufnagel may no longer be on the sidelines but he’s not too far away as he remains with the Stamps as president and general manager.

“I still want Huff involved in game-planning,” says Dickenson, “almost pre-scouting opponents. He’s got to be there if we get stuck on something as that extra voice, that guy who’s done it.

“We’ve had a great working environment here ever since I came on board. One thing Huff does, and I didn’t know this when I started working for him, he hires people and he lets them what he hired them to do. That’s the right philosophy in my mind and I’m going to try to do the same.”

The only two newcomers to the coaching staff are defensive line coach Corey Mace, who is freshly retired as a Stamps player and is hardly a stranger around McMahon, and quarterbacks coach Ryan Dinwiddie.

“We try to build within our own organization with qualified people,” says Hufnagel, “and the head coach and defensive coordinator (DeVone Claybrooks, who was promoted from defensive line coach) were filled by highly skilled people.”

As for the personnel on the field, the key is trying to figure out which no-names have the potential to become marquee names. It’s easy to forget that before exploding on the scene late in 2014, Eric Rogers was a promising but unproven practice-roster player.

So keep a close eye on training camp and see if you can spot the next player or three whose jerseys will soon be a hot commodity at the Stamps Store.