Rookie Camp Day 2 recap

Stampeders.com Staff

At the end of two days of rookie camp, Stampeders head coach Dave Dickenson had a two-word assessment: Mission accomplished.

No jobs were won or lost on Thursday or Friday as 32 players, many of them spending their first few hours in Canada, were given the opportunity to get used to the spacious dimensions of the CFL field, the rule variances from the U.S. game and Calgary’s Rocky-Mountain altitude (and comparatively thin air).

“The guys are getting more comfortable, getting more communication and fewer mental errors,” said Dickenson. “So far, we’ve had exactly what I want. We’ve got a clean bill of health, guys are getting better, they’re getting a good foundation of knowledge.

“They’re competing yes, but I’m more concerned with them feeling comfortable and healthy when they get to go against the vets.”

That will happen on Sunday when main training camp gets under way. And that’s when the battles for roster spots and the preparation for the season will get serious.

Meanwhile on Saturday the rookies head to High River for Jr. Stamps Camp where they’ll put local kids through football drills, followed by a BBQ and autograph session.

HOOFPRINTS:

Mother Nature cooperates: It rained on both days of rookie camp but, as luck would have it, the downpour happening in the interval between the morning and afternoon practices. Grey skies hung overhead for the entire practice on Friday morning but the precipitation held off.

Menu, please!: Lunch offerings on Friday included burgers and chicken on a bun with all the fixin’s as well as potato wedges.

Hair today, gone tomorrow: Every day brings another arrival by a veteran with a different look. First it was Bryant Moniz and his dreads and then on Friday it was second-year receiver Lemar Durant, who has abandoned his trademark hairstack for a closely cropped look. “When I first did it, I would look in the mirror and not even recognize myself,” said Durant with a chuckle.

School reunion: With Pierre Lavertu and Karl Lavoie’s arrival, there were a total of five Universite de Laval products in the locker room at one point on Friday. That would have been seven had Adam Thibault dropped by to join his two fellow vets and rookies Matthew Norzil, Jean-Philippe Bolduc and Pierre-Luc Caron. Also well represented on the Stamps roster with four alums apiece are Calgary (Anthony Parker, James Green, Dan Federkeil and Andrew Buckley), Simon Fraser (Durant, Brad Erdos, Adam Berger and Quinn Horton) and Concordia (Rene Paredes, Quinn Smith, Max Caron and Roman Grozman).