Rider fans show support at Florida mini-camp

The road to a hopeful return to the Grey Cup has taken the Saskatchewan Roughriders to Florida.

The Riders mini-camp is now being held in Vero Beach, where Saskatoon’s Bob Pringle can be found on the sidelines.

A huge fan of the Green and White, Pringle made the trip to watch the athletes in action.

“They’re really excited. For them, it’s like Christmas Day here…and they’re all excited to get back to Saskatchewan and we are just proud to be able to come here,” he said.  

The mini-camp is a chance for the coaching staff to get a look at a number of free agents.

“The interesting thing is that players, except if they’re signed, they come down, they pay to try out, they pay to get themselves here and home. Otherwise you’d have 500 players here. They’re really motivated,” said Pringle.

Quarterbacks Darian Durant and Brett Smith are also there. 

Pringle said Durant has been impressive so far.

“It looks like he’s either lost weight – not that he was heavy – but he’s fit and he was on the money,” said Pringle.

Training camp for the team begins May 29 in Saskatoon.