Riders rookies gear up for final showcase in pre-season finale

C.J. Reavis knows all about last chances.

The Saskatchewan Roughriders’ rookie linebacker attended East Mississippi Community College when it was featured on the Netflix series Last Chance U.

Now, the 26-year-old Reavis may have just one more opportunity to make the CFL’s Roughriders.

With many roster spots held down by veterans, Reavis and other newcomers likely will have to make an impression during Saskatchewan’s final pre-season game Friday in Vancouver against the B.C. Lions.

Saskatchewan Roughriders linebacker C.J. Reavis. (Shane Clausing/980 CJME)

Reavis isn’t going into the game with any illusions that he has a roster spot locked up just because he’s listed on the depth chart as the starting strong-side linebacker.

“There’s nothing set in stone,” Reavis said Thursday. “When I was in Jacksonville my second year (with the NFL’s Jaguars), I was starting as well and it didn’t happen for me.

“I feel like, ‘Don’t think it’s in the bag. Just keep on improving.’ I’ve got some things I need to work on. I didn’t have a perfect game a couple days ago (in Tuesday’s 25-16 loss to the Winnipeg Blue Bombers), so I just want to go out there, play hard and do my job.”

A product of Chester, Va., Reavis began his college career at Virginia Tech and spent a season there before getting kicked off the team. He declined to say Thursday why he was dismissed from the team.

From there, he transferred to East Mississippi, where he ended up in the public eye thanks to Last Chance U.

Reavis feels going to that school helped get his career back on track.

“It made me realize, ‘Don’t take it for granted. It’s just a job, but take it as a privilege, not like it’s meant for you,’ ” he said.

Reavis said East Mississippi’s players didn’t know they were being filmed for what eventually would become one of the most successful series Netflix has ever created.

“It was a cool experience,” he said. “When I went there, I didn’t know about it being on Netflix. I didn’t know (we would be) recorded every day. We were told it would be like a YouTube series, actually.

“It’s kind of cool to see what it turned into now.”

After a season rebuilding his brand, Reavis committed to Marshall. He eventually signed as an undrafted free agent with the NFL’s Jaguars in 2018.

After spending 2018 with the Jaguars and 2019 on the Atlanta Falcons’ practice squad, Reavis went three years without playing a game of football because of the COVID-19 pandemic.

Earlier this year, he initially thought he was going to play in the USFL before his agent convinced him to try the CFL.

After being away from the game for so long, Reavis says he’s excited to be back in a football locker room.

“I’ve prayed for this moment for the last two years — just to play football again, put on a helmet, be around people (and) be on a team again,” he said. “The thing you most miss is being on a team, the camaraderie with the guys (and) the coaches. It feels surreal.”

Rookie defensive tackle Demarcus Christmas also knows there’s a lot at stake Friday. He just wants to do his best to impress the coaching staff.

“I’m just looking forward to taking it one play at a time and do what I have to do to perform,” Christmas said. “(I’ve) just pretty much got to go out there with a clean mindset, work, hustle and execute everything they put in front of me.”

Receiver Samuel Emilus, the Roughriders’ first-round pick in the 2022 draft, thinks now that the rust is off from the first pre-season game, he’s ready to showcase his skills.

“I’ve got to show what I can do and how I can help the team …,” he said. “I don’t put any pressure on myself. I’ve been playing football for so long that I’ve just got to go out there and do what I’ve got to do.

“For me, the game is about having fun. Practice is when you’ve got to be really focused and game time is (when) you’ve just got to go out there and play.”

Head coach Craig Dickenson said he wants his players to show improvement from Tuesday’s outing and — with final cuts expected Saturday — to put their best foot forward to earn a job.

“There will be a lot of guys that play in this game that won’t make our team, so it’s a big game,” Dickenson said.

Game time on TSN is 8 p.m. The Green Zone pre-game show starts at 6 p.m., and the post-game show begins immediately after the contest.

NOTES: Linebacker Derrick Moncrief (head) and defensive end A.C. Leonard (hand) won’t be travelling to Vancouver. Dickenson said linebacker Micah Teitz (groin/hip) likely will start the season on the six-game injured list … Dickenson said quarterback Cody Fajardo will play the first half Friday, with backups Mason Fine and Jake Dolegala likely to get a quarter each.