{"id":664102,"date":"2026-05-12T08:50:11","date_gmt":"2026-05-12T08:50:11","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/664102\/"},"modified":"2026-05-12T08:50:11","modified_gmt":"2026-05-12T08:50:11","slug":"schager-johnson-six-points-at-riders-training-camp","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/664102\/","title":{"rendered":"Schager + Johnson = six points at Riders\u2019 training camp"},"content":{"rendered":"<p>SASKATOON \u2014 How is training camp No. 3 for No. 3?<\/p>\n<p>\u201cIt\u2019s actually kind of crazy,\u201d <a href=\"https:\/\/www.riderville.com\/2026\/01\/29\/riders-sign-all-cfl-receiver-keesean-johnson-to-a-two-year-extension\/\" rel=\"nofollow noopener\" target=\"_blank\">Saskatchewan Roughriders receiver KeeSean Johnson<\/a> said after Monday\u2019s Coors Light Training Camp workout. \u201cWe were just talking about that yesterday.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cIt feels like home again \u2014 somewhere I\u2019ve been for multiple years now. I know where everything is and I know where to go. Some of the young guys can lean on me now.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>Johnson was a newcomer to the CFL \u2014 but not pro football \u2014 when he joined the Roughriders in 2024.<\/p>\n<p>After a strong first season in Riderville, the former Arizona Cardinals pass-catcher earned All-CFL honours in 2025. He caught 86 passes for 1,159 yards and four touchdowns in 16 regular-season games.<\/p>\n<p>Johnson\u2019s All-CFL form was on display during Day 2 of main training camp when he caught a 35-yard touchdown pass from Brayden Schager at Griffiths Stadium. The throw hit Johnson, who was open by a couple of steps, in stride to complete a highlight-reel play.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cSeeing the ball come your way always feels good,\u201d <a href=\"https:\/\/www.riderville.com\/2026\/05\/11\/keesean-johnson-may-11th\/\" rel=\"nofollow noopener\" target=\"_blank\">Johnson said with a smile<\/a>. \u201cWhen you see the ball, you\u2019ve got to get the ball. That\u2019s obviously the main thing in our receiver room, so that\u2019s what we\u2019ve got to do.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>Johnson was the league\u2019s runaway leader in second-down receptions (39) in 2025 despite missing the final two regular-season games with a knee injury. He also was sidelined him for the Western Final and Grey Cup Game.<\/p>\n<p>Johnson\u2019s status was a day-to-day matter during Grey Cup Week. He was close to recovering in time for the championship game, but ultimately sat out the Roughriders\u2019 25-17 victory over the Montreal Alouettes.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cIt was an every-day thing, but our new motto is \u20182026,\u2019 \u201d he said. \u201cWe\u2019re trying to leave 2025 there. We\u2019re champions, but let\u2019s leave it there.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>ROLAN\u2019S STILL ROLLIN\u2019<\/p>\n<p><a href=\"https:\/\/www.riderville.com\/2025\/11\/13\/attitude-of-gratitude-appreciating-rolan-milligan-jr-and-his-whole-journey\/\" rel=\"nofollow noopener\" target=\"_blank\">Rolan Milligan Jr.<\/a> made Tuesday\u2019s most spectacular play, hands down.<\/p>\n<p>The veteran defensive halfback \u2014 an All-CFL selection each of the past two years \u2014 treated the crowd to a one-handed interception of a deep pass during a receivers-versus-DBs exercise.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cRolan Milligan is still good at football,\u201d <a href=\"https:\/\/www.riderville.com\/2026\/05\/11\/corey-mace-may-11th-3\/\" rel=\"nofollow noopener\" target=\"_blank\">Head Coach Corey Mace said<\/a> with a laugh.<\/p>\n<p>Also on Tuesday, 2025 Grey Cup MVP completed 10 of 11 passes in 12-on-12 drills. The lone incomplete throw was catchable.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cTrevor has been very Trevor, which is excellent for us,\u201d Mace said.<\/p>\n<p>Mace also lauded quarterback Brayden Schager, who is attending his first CFL training camp. He was on the Roughriders\u2019 practice roster last October.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cSchager is making the most of his reps,\u201d Mace said.<\/p>\n<p>The CFL\u2019s reigning Coach of the Year added a note of commendation for receiver Daniel Wiebe, a University of Saskatchewan Huskies grad who was named the top player in Canada West football last year.<\/p>\n<p>QUOTE OF THE DAY<\/p>\n<p>Mace was asked for an early appraisal of rookie defensive lineman Jaylen Pate.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cHe\u2019s a horrible dancer,\u201d the response began. \u201cHe was doing some Michael Jackson last night.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cIt was bad.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>Get it?<\/p>\n<p>Circling back to the aforementioned Milligan Jr. interception: It was a thriller.<\/p>\n<p>EXTRA POINTS<\/p>\n<p>\u2022 Schager, Trevor Harris, Jack Coan, Tommy Stevens and Jordan McCloud all threw at least one pass in 12-on-12 drills. Collectively, the QBs were 17-for-22. Two of the incompletions were on catchable passes.<\/p>\n<p>\u2022 Veteran defensive halfback DaMarcus Fields nearly had an interception in 12-on-12 competition. Linebacker Melique Straker, a third-year Roughrider, added a pass deflection.<\/p>\n<p>\u2022 The Roughriders released defensive back Billy Jonas Pernier on Monday. Pernier, who played U Sports football at Laval, signed with the Roughriders as an undrafted free agent.<\/p>\n<p>\u2022 Mace was asked when the players would first practise in full pads. The response: \u201cYou guys might want to be here tomorrow.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>\u00a0<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"SASKATOON \u2014 How is training camp No. 3 for No. 3? \u201cIt\u2019s actually kind of crazy,\u201d Saskatchewan Roughriders&hellip;\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":664103,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[437],"tags":[49,48,521,522,520,82],"class_list":["post-664102","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","category-cfl","tag-ca","tag-canada","tag-canadian-football-league","tag-canadianfootballleague","tag-cfl","tag-sports"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/664102","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=664102"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/664102\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/664103"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=664102"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=664102"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=664102"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}