Logan Ferland looking to take next step in 2021 for Riders

A former member of the Regina Thunder is looking to make some noise this year.

Logan Ferland is one of a number of players vying for a job on the Saskatchewan Roughriders offensive line.

The group was a strength for the CFL team in 2019, but only two returning starters are back — centre Dan Clark and tackle Terran Vaughn — leaving the team with a number of question marks.

Takoby Cofield and Braden Schram both announced they wouldn’t be playing this year, Dariusz Bladek and Philip Blake signed with the Toronto Argonauts, Thaddeus Coleman was a free agent but recently signed with the Edmonton Elks. Additionally, Dakoda Shepley is with the NFL’s San Francisco 49ers after opting out of his contract in 2020.

But perhaps the biggest loss of them all was with guard Brendon LaBatte electing to not play in 2021. The six-time CFL all-star let the team know of his decision about two weeks away from the start of training camp.

“You lose a guy that you literally know where he’s at every moment on the field. You lose a trust tree. You lose one of those guys you don’t even have to worry about. You just know what you’re going to get out of him every day and that’s hard work and dedication,” said Clark, who has lined up beside LaBatte for years.

And offensive line coach Stephen Sorrells knows his group has some big shoes to fill.

“You’re talking about a guy who as soon as he’s eligible for the Hall of Fame, he’s going to be a Hall of Famer the first year he’s eligible. In my opinion, he’s one of the top-three Canadian O-Lineman to ever play in the CFL and he had good football left in them,” Sorrells said, before explaining what type of individual off the field LaBatte is.

“My mom passed away from COVID in December and LaBatte was a guy calling me every couple of days, checking on me for a long time and making sure I was OK – him and Clark. So that type of person as a person is what we’re going to miss the most.”

But while Sorrells says the entire group at the 2021 training camp — which includes Evan Johnson, Brett Boyko, Mattland Riley, Cyrus Kouandjio, Cam Jefferson and Josiah St. John — has been performing well, he had high praise for Ferland.

“I’ve been telling people for two years that I think Logan Ferland is going to be a really, really good football player in this league,” Sorrells said.

Ferland has been taking snaps at center throughout camp, but has also been lining up at either guard and tackle position as well.

When he announced he wasn’t going to be playing, LaBatte also gave praise to the Melfort product.

“I’d be very surprised if one of these young guys don’t pounce on (my starting spot). I think a guy like Logan Ferland is who you should be interviewing and see how he’s feeling about battling to the open spot,” LaBatte said. “I think Logan Ferland has a lot of potential and I think he’s going to be a star or stud for the team.”

When Ferland heard LaBatte had given him praise, he said he was happy to hear it.

“It’s never a bad thing for people to talk good about you. It’s great to hear that he had those words for me. It really is an honour, especially coming from a guy like that who I really look up to,” Ferland said.

The 24-year-old is used to the CFL grind and balancing even a little bit more. When he joined the team in 2019 as a territorial junior, he was doing double duty with the Riders and Thunder.

“When I got into it, it’s a totally different game. You’re working the same muscles twice as normal and two different playbooks. Mentally and physically, by the end of both seasons, you were exhausted,” Ferland said.

And Ferland doesn’t have to look far to find inspiration as he tries to go from the junior ranks to the CFL.

Clark was also a member of the Thunder and was on the Riders practice roster in 2009 and 2010 while playing junior.

“Dan’s been a guy that when I first came into the Thunder program, he’s a guy I always looked up too and he gave that real possibility you can make that jump from junior to the CFL. He’s there all the time for questions or anything and he knows this game like the back of his hand,” Ferland said.

The Riders didn’t have on-field practice on Sunday. The team will be back out on Monday.