New linebackers, defensive line a focus at Riders’ camp

Defence will be top of mind for new head coach Corey Mace as the Saskatchewan Roughriders’ training camp opens on Sunday.

With the offence under the care of Marc Mueller, the team’s new offensive co-ordinator, and Mace’s past experience playing and coaching on the defensive side of the ball, the group will likely be pushed hard throughout camp.

Some of the newest additions to that side of the ball include middle linebacker Jameer Thurman and defensive back Jalon Edwards-Cooper.

With the Riders’ looking to return to the playoffs after back-to-back 6-12 seasons, the defence will play a major role.

The special teams unit appears to remain intact from last year, with all of the starters back in 2024.

Main camp begins May 12.

Defensive line

On the roster (in alphabetical order): Christian Albright, Habakkuk Baldonado, Miles Brown, Malik Carney, Bryan Cox Jr., Tre’ Crawford, Charbel Dabire, Nick Dheilly, Roman Harrison, Sidney Houston Jr., Micah Johnson, Lake Korte-Moore, Anthony Lanier II, R.J. McIntosh, Elijah Ponder, Caleb Sanders, Tyrone Taleni

With Mace being a former defensive lineman, a lot of attention will be centred on what he can do with the Riders’ group.

One of the returning members is Johnson, who is entering his 11th CFL season and was a teammate of Mace’s in Calgary from 2013-‘15, even winning a Grey Cup together. Johnson has played in 142 CFL games, recording 261 tackles and 59 sacks.

Lanier II is back for a fourth season in green and white. In 14 games last season he had eight sacks while spending time at both defensive end and defensive tackle.

Also returning are Albright, who had three sacks in four games in 2023, Cox Jr., who had two sacks in his first CFL season, and Brown, who had 22 tackles and four sacks last season.

One of the big signings for the Riders was the addition of Carney, who has spent the past three seasons with the Hamilton Tiger-Cats. He had 13 sacks over that time, including five last season.

Dabire is heading into his fifth CFL season after he was taken by the Riders in the 2019 CFL draft. Korte-Moore will look to improve heading into his second CFL season after dressing for all 18 games in 2023.

Linebackers

On the roster (in alphabetical order): A.J. Allen, Adam Auclair, C.J. Avery, Antoine Brooks Jr., T.J. Brunson, KD Davis, Matt Dean, Diego Fagot, Jordan Herdman-Reed, Justin Herdman-Reed, Zakoby McClain, Mark McLaurin, Jaylen Moody, C.J. Reavis, Melique Straker, Nick Thomas, Jameer Thurman, Nick Wiebe

It’s a changing of the guard at the linebacker position for the Riders in 2024.

Derrick Moncrief was released ahead of free agency, Micah Teitz signed with his hometown Calgary Stampeders, and Larry Dean, the team’s most-outstanding player and outstanding defensive player last season, retired and joined the team’s football operations staff.

One of the reasons for Dean’s retirement was the team’s signing of Thurman on the first day of free agency.

Thurman, who was in Calgary while Mace was the defensive line coach, has been a consistent force at the middle linebacker spot, recording 367 tackles over five seasons. That includes a career-high 98 last season in Hamilton – his only season there.

Reavis ended the season as the Riders’ starter at the strong linebacker spot. He recorded 59 tackles, three sacks and three forced fumbles, despite not starting at the position all season.

The Riders have gone with a Canadian at the weak-side linebacker spot, with the free agent signing of Auclair appearing to fill that vacancy. The Saint George, Que. product spent three seasons with the Ottawa Redblacks and recorded 63 tackles last season.

The team drafted Wiebe in the second round (12th overall) but the University of Saskatchewan Huskie isn’t expected to be healthy until later in the season after suffering a torn ACL in the U Sports playoffs last season.

Defensive backs

On the roster (in alphabetical order): Richard Aduboffour, Jaxon Ciraolo-Brown, Rodney Clemons, C.J. Coldon, Cole Coleman, Jayden Dalke, Jalon Edwards-Cooper, Mark Fields II, DaMarcus Fields, Jaxon Ford, Amari Henderson, Holton Hill, Jamar Johnson, Joseph Katley, Nelson Lokombo, Rolan Milligan Jr., Marcus Murphy, Nick Nelson, Godfrey Onyeka, Kosi Onyeka, Eric Smith, Deontai Williams

A number of starters from 2023 are set to return to the Riders’ defensive backfield, though one big piece will not return.

Nic Marshall’s offseason arrest and subsequent release means one spot will be up for grabs in the secondary of the Green and White.

Safety Jayden Dalke, and defensive backs Amari Henderson and Deontai Williams all finished the season as starters, with Dalke and Henderson in those spots to begin the season.

Milligan Jr., returns to action after suffering an injury that forced him to miss the last 14 games of the season. The defence never fully recovered from losing him in the lineup.

Ford, who started in some games last season due to an injury Dalke suffered, was the Riders’ second-round selection (11th overall) in 2023. He will miss the first part of the season after undergoing offseason wrist surgery.

Lokombo was taken by the Riders second overall in the 2021 draft, but after suffering an Achilles tendon tear a day before training camp that season he hasn’t quite emerged into the starter many expected him to be.

Another day-one free agency signing the Riders made was for Edwards-Cooper, who is trading in his orange and black for Saskatchewan’s green and white. He spent three seasons in B.C. before joining the Riders.

Aduboffour, a defensive back from Western, was the Riders’ eighth round (68th overall) in the CFL Draft.

Special teams

On the roster (in alphabetical order): Mario Alford, Joe Couch, Jorgen Hus, Adam Korsak, Brett Lauther

Not many changes are expected for the Riders on special teams for 2024, but some punting competition has been brought in.

Alford is once again set to be the team’s primary returner, with the 32-year-old returning three punts for touchdowns last season.

Alford joined the Riders in 2022 in a Week-5 trade and went on to be named the CFL’s most-outstanding special teams player that season.

Hus, who is now the longest-serving member of the team, has been with the Riders since 2015 and has been a steady presence at the long-snapper position.

Lauther signed a three-year extension this offseason to remain in green and white. He connected on 81.8 per cent of his field goal attempts last season.

Korsak enjoyed a lot of success in his first CFL season. The Australian punter was named the team’s most-outstanding rookie and special teams player in 2023 after averaging 47.6 yards per punt.

The Riders also signed Couch, another Australian punter, on May 6.

Couch spent three collegiate seasons at Ouachita Baptist University, playing in 29 games as a Tiger. Over that period he punted 76 times, earning 3,397 yards with a 44.7-yard average.