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It wasn’t only rookie camp for players this week in Saskatoon, but some new Saskatchewan Roughriders coaches were also put through their paces.
One of those new faces in the Riders’ locker room this season is 24-year-old offensive assistant Josh Donnelly.
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Donnelly’s rise through the coaching ranks has been fast.
He spent the previous two seasons as the offensive coordinator for the University of Regina Rams and helped lead them to the Hardy Cup championship last season with a win over the University of Saskatchewan Huskies.
“My playing career ended a little bit short. I got hurt a couple times and ended up hanging up the cleats,” said Donnelly, when asked about why he got into the coaching game.
“I was lucky enough to get on the coaching staff with the University of Regina and was able to kind of work my way up from there.”
While working with the Rams, Donnelly caught the attention of offensive line coach Brett Jones, who still had a relationship with Riders offensive coordinator Marc Mueller from when the two coached together with the Rams.
Last year, Jones recommended to Muller that he let Donnelly tag along as a guest coach at rookie camp so he could learn the ropes of the professional game.
“I got to spend a little bit more time with him and the rest of the offensive coaches and make some connections and make build some relationships,” Donnelly said. “It’s been a lot of fun and really good learning experience.”
Donnelly is one of the rarities in the CFL who can say they’ve been to rookie camp as both a player and coach.
Before getting into coaching, Donnelly was the starting quarterback with the Rams and invited to attend rookie camp with the Green and White a couple years ago.
He credits his rookie camp experiences as a coach and player for getting him to where he is today.
Muller loves what he’s seen from Donnelly so far.
“Josh was a guest coach with us here last year in training camp and I thought he did a really good job. Obviously, the Rams had a great season and won the Hardy cup,” Muller said.
“We just had a spot open up and I thought it’d be perfect for a guy like him at the age he’s at to come in and learn. He’s from Regina. Everything in life — especially sports — timing is everything and just the timing and fit worked out perfectly for Josh.”
When asked about having such a young guy on his coaching staff, Riders head coach Corey Mace had nothing but praise.
“He’s still the worst quarterback we have out here, so I’m glad he’s coaching now,” Mace joked.
“Bright, young mind. He’s a worker bee. He gets it. I’m excited for this year for him and ultimately I’m excited for his future.”
Riders new running back coach Andrew Harris admitted he was feeling some nerves at the team’s rookie camp this week. (Shane Clausing/650 CKOM)
Andrew Harris in Rider green
Donnelly wasn’t the only coach getting attention at rookie camp, so too was future Hall of Fame running back Andrew Harris.
Harris was brought in by Mace this off-season as the team’s running back coach just over a year after he decided to retire from the CFL.
Harris’ resume is impressive, with four Grey Cup rings, three of which came as a member of the Winnipeg Blue Bombers.
Although he ran the football up and down the field against the Riders for a long time, Harris said he’s more than happy to be wearing the Green and White.
“The colour is … growing on me. It’s been a cool transition and I’m just looking forward to being in this market and in this community and with this fan base,” Harris said.
Harris admitted he was also feeling the nerves this week when rookie camp opened up.
“Not going to lie, I was a little nervous on my first meeting. But once you start talking football, it just kind of rolls off the tongue and it seems very natural. I’m enjoying it,” Harris said.
“Only had a little bit of an itch to get back on the field but I just realized now that the body is not the same as it used to be. Now it’s just passing the knowledge down to the guys and getting them on the same page and helping them be the best players they can be.”
Harris said the biggest thing for him to teach the rookies is patience and helping them get to the speed of playing in the CFL.
He’s excited for what the running back room could become this year.
“A.J. (Ouellette) is a specimen and he can do great things with the ball. We had a great relationship working together in Toronto. I’m excited to work with him again. The new guys that are coming in, we’re trying to find, you know, a guy to come in to push A.J. and be a guy that can be serviceable,” Harris said.
“I’m excited to see them in pads with the vets. It’s gonna be exciting.”
News and notes from Day 3
The final day of rookie camp was a quick one on the field in Saskatoon as Mace decided to run a practice only 90 minutes long.
Although there wasn’t much time for rookies to showcase their skills one last time, there were still some battle drills.
In the one-on-one battles, linebacker Braxton Hill out muscled running Trent Pennix to intercept the football.
Quarterback Jake Maier also made a strong throw to receiver Ty James for a score in the drill.
Rookie receiver Daniel Wiebe and Alfahiym Walcott had a strong battle against each other. Wiebe caught the ball in the far corner, but was ruled out of bounds by Mace.
Mace said the intent of the drill was to show a little bit of love to the players.
“We had a little showcase, little compete period, which was good. Got everybody riled up,” Mace said.
“We just wanted to make sure that these guys were healthy enough to push as main camp stars. They’ve been completely dialed, it was awesome to see.”
Mace is excited to finally start main camp.
“I think the intensity right away is going to fly off the shelf. I’ve been talking about it for a few weeks now, the vets have been they’ve been waiting for this,” Mace said.
“We’re all excited put the rookies on notice to mentally take in everything that we can just. The speed and the intensity is going to go up another notch or two once the vets get in.”
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