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Shaq Evans and Duke Williams are looking to take the Saskatchewan Roughriders’ aerial attack to new heights.
“We’ve got to put that work into becoming a dynamic duo,” Williams said following Day 2 of the CFL team’s training camp Friday in Saskatoon.
“Shaq (is) great, he (is) good. I’m great, I’m good. Cody (Fajardo is) great, we just have to put it all together. We can talk about it all we want to but we’ve got to walk, we’ve got to step out and dominate each and every play and show our defenders that they can’t guard us.”
Williams will look to improve on an impressive ending to the 2021 season after joining the Riders on Oct. 4. Williams, who had previously spent two seasons with the Buffalo Bills, played in four regular-season games for the Riders, catching 17 passes for 285 yards and a touchdown.
Williams was a potent weapon for the Riders in their two playoff games, catching nine passes for 163 yards, including a 67-yard touchdown in the 21-17 West Division final loss to the Winnipeg Blue Bombers.
Williams, who was a free agent this past off-season, elected to re-sign with the Riders while reportedly becoming one of the highest-paid non-quarterbacks in the CFL.
“Me coming here and playing and seeing how the fans reacted, I want to be a part of that,” Williams said.
Williams said having a full camp and off-season with Fajardo will be important.
“We had a little chemistry going towards the end but right now we can build that chemistry even more — come up with some signals to switch routes and stuff,” Williams said.
Meanwhile, Evans will look to get back to the success he and Fajardo had in 2019.
Evans turned into one of the league’s top receivers that season, catching 72 passes for 1,334 yards and five touchdowns.
But in 2021, a foot injury kept him out of action for most of the season; he caught 25 passes for 224 yards and zero touchdowns in six games.
“I feel like I’ve had every experience being on this team. I had an OK season my first year, an all-star season my second year, an injury-riddled season my third year,” Evans said.
“I feel like it’s going to be a great season for me individually and even bigger as a team because I just feel we all have that level of focus from the receiver group to every other group because we know what we have to do — win a Grey Cup.”
And with a receiver room consisting of Evans, Williams, Paul McRoberts, Kian Schaffer-Baker, Kyran Moore, Justin McInnis and others, Evans has high expectations for them.
“We expect to be the best. I told them that on Day 1: I expect us to be the best but we’ve got to put in the work, before, during and after practice,” Evans said.
“I think that just having the level of talent in our room makes us perform better because the other guy is going to make that play so you’ve got to make that play.”
Friday fistfight breaks out at practice
It was only the first day of full practice for the Riders since camp opened, but tensions led to a physical confrontation between defensive lineman Garrett Marino and offensive tackle Na’Ty Rodgers.
Rodgers and Marino both threw hard punches at each other’s helmets.
But head coach Craig Dickenson wasn’t too worried about things.
“It’s just another year,” Dickenson said with a laugh. “These guys just want to play. Everybody who is out there was probably the best athlete at their school (and) probably the toughest guy in their class, so it’s a bit of a pecking order thing.”
Dickenson said the one thing he asks is that players leave it on the field.
“We can put up with a few emotional outbursts on the field but we don’t want it to spill into the locker room,” Dickenson said. “We talk about respecting each other enough that it ends when it ends, which is on the field, and then when we go into the locker room, we move on.”
Notes: Offensive guard Evan Johnson (undisclosed) was once again absent from practice … Defensive back Blace Brown is missing from practice. He is still recovering from shoulder surgery he had last year.
It was a chilly day as the #Riders took the field for the first time and tempers flared early.
Our @jamienye and Rider Reporter @BrittonGray bring you The Blitz from Day 2 of training camp. #CFL pic.twitter.com/aLRJrGDKRP
— The Green Zone (@GreenZoneSK) May 20, 2022