With the CFL season just around the corner, Stampeders President and GM John Hufnagel, head coach Dave Dickenson, and quarterback Bo Levi Mitchell participated in a season preview conference call with the media. Here’s what they had to say:

Bo Levi Mitchell on his shoulder:

“At the beginning, we got it tested out. The organization sent me to find out everything that we needed to find out about it. Found out that the shoulder was structurally sound and I was able to get out there and push it in rehab. I’ve been working with Jeff, the throwing coach over the past couple of months. It’s about an hour a day of rehab and it’s been feeling great. I threw about 60 balls yesterday pain free, so things are moving in the right direction.”

Dave Dickenson on defensive coordinator DeVone Claybrooks:

“DeVone, he’s had a lot of coaches that he’s been able to learn from, starting all the way back from Rick Campbell and Rich Stubler. DeVone has also been good at studying different systems. I think what he did is he took what he liked and he gives us a lot of different options. The one thing with DeVone is that he’s a communicator and he’s willing to listen to his guys, but he also has a good, strong voice to make sure we’re all on the same page. He lets his guys play. We’re looking to try and win games and defensively that’s all he’s about. Stats are great, but keep them out of the endzone and win games. Ultimately, it was great to have him back this year.”

Mitchell on his performance in 2017:

“It was a different year. I wouldn’t say it was an off-year. I’m not going to point to the injury as any kind of reason. I think any athlete in any sport plays through an injury. I was able to push through some things and compensate in other ways for the injury. It’s nothing to blame for the end of the season. Dave gave me the time during the week to rest it and make sure that I was strong for the games and I felt strong going in to each and every game.”

Dickenson on Grey Cup losses:

“The thing about it is that there is scarring that we have to work through. There are some things ultimately that still bother me. I can’t wait to get the season started. I don’t think I’ve ever looked forward to getting a season started more than this year. I’m just ready to play some football. I want our team to know that you can’t correct the past and look forward to the Grey Cup game, you’ve got to start in training camp and get to work.”

Mitchell on how players are feeling:

“Our locker-room is a very tight knit locker-room. I’ve spoken to plenty of guys over the off-season, including guys on defence like Jamar Wall and obviously Alex Singleton, because we work out together. Just making sure that we always stick together no matter what the situation is on the field. No matter if it’s the first or last game of the season, we have to band together as one team and twelve guys. Obviously, you don’t want anyone criticizing anybody else, because we can all do better, but everyone took responsibility for what they needed to. I think it helps us grow and it’s a learning experience for everyone of us and we’re all looking forward to getting started in May.”

Hufnagel on the expected ratio of nationals and internationals on the offensive line:

“I think our ratio will be very similar to what it was last year, but we don’t make those decisions now. We let the players make those decisions during practices and the games that they play. On paper right now, we’ll have the same ratio on the offensive line as we had last year.”

Mitchell on Twitter:

“There’s a 30-day period where you can turn your Twitter back on and I went ahead and let that pass. My Twitter is fully and completely deleted. Honestly, I just wanted to reign in the focus. I wanted to give myself and my team everything that I had. I’m already doing a radio show, so anything I need to talk about or say can be put out there. I felt like with the negativity trending towards social media these days, I thought it was a good time to get off and I thought Huff would like that, too.”

Dickenson on the running backs:

“It should be an exciting one to see who we can bring in. Obviously Terry [Williams] does some good things, but we’ll have a good competition in Florida, we’ll have lots of new faces and we feel like we’ve been a good team at running the ball for many, many years. We’ll find a good back – there’s some out there we’ve got our eyes on. Usually in competition, the cream rises, so let’s see which guy can ride. We’ll have good backs this year.”

Dickenson on getting better:

“The one thing I’m looking forward to is letting some other guys be leaders. We lost a lot of our veteran leadership group and I feel that there is a lot of guys that are ready to take that step, but you have to let them do that. As far as a new team, new challenges, I’m trying to improve our coaching. We have the most time in the off-season to do that and we’ve had a good start to the pre-season. Leadership and having that voice in the room; I hired one of my best leaders in Josh Bell to be a coach. We’ve got some areas, but we feel good about our guys.”

Dickenson on possible illegal contact rule changes:

“Huff is on the board or the committee looking at that. We haven’t heard 100 percent what is going to happen, but as an organization, we haven’t been in favour of challenging illegal contact. We will abide by what everyone thinks is best and use the rules to challenge or not challenge in the best way to win games. Once we get clarity from the referees and the board of governors, we’re all in. We’re going to support any decision they make.”