Riderville.com
SASKATOON, SASK. — Chris Jones hasn’t decided who will start his team’s pre-season opener on Saturday night, but it won’t be Darian Durant.
The Riders will play the first of two upcoming pre-season games at Mosaic Stadium against the BC Lions, but Riders fans hoping for a long-awaited glimpse of the team’s star quarterback will have to wait.
Durant hasn’t played since the 2015 season-opener but now that he’s healthy, Jones has no reason to push him into action.
“He’s completely healthy, this is a pre-season number one so we’ve got a lot of football to play,” said Jones. “He’s practised a lot of plays and looks great if you watched the same practice I did.
“He’s in great shape, he’s lighter than he has been. He’s picked up our offence very quickly and he’s a great leader.”
The focus, then, shifts to the kids. It’s too soon for recent pickup and 23-year-old Phillip Sims to get the call, but one of 24-year-old Brett Smith or 27-year-old BJ Coleman will start Saturday’s game and get a chance to step in the spotlight.
Both have put in strong camps so far, Jones said, as the battle for the second spot on the quarterback depth chart continues. Smith is the only other one with CFL experience after taking snaps in 2015, but he isn’t being handed anything.
“We evaluate on a daily basis and we make adjustments on a daily basis as to who performs the best and they will get the majority of the time,” said Jones. “Certainly we don’t discredit the fact that he was here last year and he did play a lot of football. But you have to go out every day and earn your keep.”
Coleman was added in camp to compete with Smith as Jones looks to accumulate young quarterbacks to plan for the future beyond 33-year-old Durant. A 6-foot-3, 225-pound graduate of Chattanooga, Coleman has been praised for his strong arm and dedicated approach.
“He’s got a tremendously strong arm, he’s very intelligent — he’s a worker,” said Jones. “You get up and you go to the breakfast room at 6:15 in the morning and he’s there. He’s first guy in there, first guy over here.
“He’s one of those guys that just comes to work every day with a lunch pale and he’s a good guy to be around.”
Coleman, Smith and eventually Sims aren’t just competing to be Durant’s backup this year; they’re competing for a chance to be the Riders’ quarterback of the future. So far all of them have earned their head coach’s approval.
“We’ve got three really good young quarterbacks,” said Jones. “BJ, really in the last couple of days, he and 16 both have thrown the ball extremely well.
“They’re both really good guys, they’re team guys, you don’t have to worry about them, they’re where they’re supposed to be, they study. It’s fun to be around guys like that.”
Sims has potential
While either Smith or Coleman will get the start on Saturday — flip a coin as to who, Jones said — Sims, who arrived only on June 6, is an intriguing prospect.
Known for his strong arm, Sims has played for the Seattle Seahawks and Arizona Cardinals since a whirlwind college career that included a national championship with the Alabama Crimson Tide before stops in Virginia and Winston-Salem State.
Now hoping to find a permanent landing spot after playing for five teams over the last four years, Sims will need some time to get acclimated both to Jones’ system and the Canadian game. Hard to ignore is the fact that he comes recommended by Cardinals head coach Bruce Arians.
“[He’s] behind the curve a little bit as far as academics go – getting them in and out of the huddle, knowing what we’re doing full-scope,” said Jones. “He’s still got some concepts he’s learning right now.
“He’s a compartment guy — he wants to compartmentalize and try to relate it to what he’s learned in the past. He’s had five different coordinators in five years.
“But when Bruce Arians tells me that you’re a smart guy, you’re a smart guy.”
Position change for Francis
Can Francis make the transition from receiver to safety? (North Carolina A&T State University)
The Riders used their third round pick in 2017 to get Kevin Francis in the supplemental draft, and while he was picked as a receiver, it appears the Riders had other plans for him.
Standing at 6-foot-5, 220 pounds, Francis arrives in the CFL known mostly for his special teams play. Jones will play him at safety.
“This is the first time he’s ever played safety,” Jones said Thursday. “I just stuck him there because it’s a position where we can try to utilize his physical tools and he’s not afraid of contact.”
So far Jones says there’s no reason to believe he can’t make the transition.
“He’s a guy that’s very, very intelligent. He got his degree early in his career and he’s a guy that it comes easy for him academically,” said Jones. “Certainly he can come downhill and he can tackle, he’s a willing tackler.
“When I tested him in Tennessee he was an 11-foot-11 broad, he ran a 4.62 and he verted 40 inches,” Jones continued. “He’s a tremendous athlete so anybody that possesses those types of physical tools is able to play safety for us more than likely.”
Roosevelt drawing high praise throughout camp
Roosevelt appears to be a big part of Chris Jones’ plans this season (THE CANADIAN PRESS)
Naaman Roosevelt came in and made a significant impact during the second half of 2015, yet with so much turnover for the Riders it was a little uncertain how his role in 2016 would shake out.
Those questions may have been put to rest, as Jones conceded Roosevelt is better than he thought coming into camp.
“He’s a lot like Derel Walker last year,” said Jones. “All he does is make a play every day, or two plays every day or three plays every day to make you go ‘wow’.
“‘Til I got here, Naaman Roosevelt was just another name and now all of a sudden it’s like ‘this dude’s a ball player’.”
Roosevelt caught 25 passes for 488 yards over a 10-game span in 2015, most notably averaging 19.5 yards per catch. He’ll look to be a deep threat on a Rider offence that should have no problem getting vertical this upcoming season.
“He’s catching all the deep balls for touchdowns,” said Jones.
