KAYLE NEIS /Regina Leader-Post Vice President of Football Operations at the Saskatchewan Roughriders Jeremy O’Day watches combine events during the CFL Combine at AffintyPlex on the REAL district on Friday, March 21, 2025 in Regina.
Taylor Shire
Regina Leader-Post
The CFL’s top prospects are being evaluated this week in Edmonton at the CFL combine ahead of next month’s draft.
For the Saskatchewan Roughriders, who hosted the combine last year in Regina, it’s one last chance to evaluate the players in person after watching them on film or during live games over the last year.
As the Roughriders put together their final draft rankings before selected players on Apr. 28, general manager Jeremy O’Day is not only monitoring individual, on-field drills and interviews, but also how a player acts when the spotlight isn’t on him.
“In most cases, we’ve watched the player before we get to the combine and so the combine is just kind of reassurance, or in some cases, maybe a detriment to the player if they don’t test well or if they don’t interview well,” said O’Day. “You really want to weight heavily on what you see on tape. But if the testing is not where it should be for a professional player, then I think that changes your opinion of them a little bit from the combine.
“And the interviews are just trying to figure out whether he’s going to fit into the culture that we have. And that’s a big part of it as well, is trying to get to know the player, not just in their interview, but how he is on the field, how he is walking through the hotel; all sorts of things that you can pick up on from guys just being around them a little bit more.”
While the Roughriders — who were named inaugural Ted Goveia Football Operations award winners on Wednesday night — have been busy celebrating the Grey Cup this off-season, taking it to all four corners of the province, the football operations staff has already turned the page on last season after a busy free agency period which saw the team add some new faces and lose some others.
“It’s a bit of a challenge because you work hard to get the trophy,” said O’Day. “Everyone works hard for it. Our fan base, our community, province, they deserve to see it (and) deserve to celebrate it. So it’s a little bit tricky. You’re just trying to navigate where you’re focused in on the future, but also understanding the importance of what we accomplished last year.
“It’s not hard to forget the Grey Cup has been kind of everywhere. Every time you turn your head, it’s somewhere else, or you’re at a function with it. And I will say it never gets old seeing it at a function. But in this role, you quickly turn the page and you have to start focusing on ‘26.”
The Roughriders don’t have many major holes to fill on the roster in the draft, but there will be some training camp battles to watch when the team hits the field in Saskatoon on May 10, including at backup quarterback.
While Trevor Harris is returning as the starting quarterback after signing a one-year extension, it appears Jack Coan is slated to be the No. 2 after Saskatchewan lost last year’s backup Jake Maier in free agency.
The Roughriders also have short-yardage specialist Tommy Stevens and two rookies, Jordan McLoud and Brayden Schager, on the roster.
“Our plan is to go to camp with the guys that we have,” said O’Day. “We haven’t communicated with anyone outside of the organization as far as any veteran-type players at this point.
“But that’s our plan. I think we got to start preparing for life after Trevor and that will be determined as time goes. And hopefully he plays great and we’ll see where it goes. But as far as the backup, it’s going to be wide open.
“I think it’s between all four of the guys we have to be honest. I think that’s what it should be. And Jack obviously has been here longer than the other guys and Tommy’s had experience in our system for a number of years. But that’s really going to be up to Marc (Mueller, offensive coordinator) and (head coach Corey Mace) of how that shakes down. But we’re trying to bring in good players that will have a future in our league, and hopefully there’s a good competition there in training camp. So I don’t think it’s anyone’s job right now, but I think obviously Jack has a leg up with being here. We’ve invested two years in Jack, and when we looked at it, knowing that Jake was going to move on, we had the conversation, ‘Do we feel like we’ve got the guy in the building already?’ and the answer to that was yes. And it’s up to Jack to go out and perform.”
While veteran running back A.J. Ouellette is also returning in 2026 after signing an extension, there’s an intriguing name behind him as the Roughriders signed Darrell Henderson Jr., who comes to the CFL with 54 games of NFL experience and a Super Bowl championship on his resume from his time with the Los Angeles Rams.
“It was an interesting one,” O’Day said of signing the 27-year-old Henderson. “We actually had a connection with (offensive lineman) Jermarcus Hardrick; I believe they’re from the same hometown (Batesville, Miss.) or they went to school at the same school. He actually just kind of mentioned that he was still willing to play and was interested in coming up in Canada. So that’s kind of how the conversation got started, and then from there, it was just communicating with him and seeing if we could work out a deal with him.”
While there’s also a hole to fill at starting American receiver, a major camp battle to watch will be at defensive end.
With the team losing last year’s starters Malik Carney and Habakkuk Baldonado in free agency, veteran James Vaughters was brought in to start at one end position while it appears the other will be a camp battle between a number of American rookies signed this off-season.
“I think that’s the most exciting part,” said Mace, a former defensive lineman who was named the CFL’s coach of the year on Wednesday night. “And that’s what you love about training camp.
“We’ve got a laundry list of really talented defensive ends, and truthfully, it’s going to be up to them who’s going to be able to take that spot, but it’s going to be very open for competition, and we’re going to give those guys that opportunity.”
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