AVAILABLE HERE<\/a>.)<\/p>\nThe former U of S standout signed with the Roughriders on Dec. 13. The sixth overall selection in the 2023 CFL Canadian Draft was previously a member of the Hamilton Tiger-Cats (2023-24) and Ottawa REDBLACKS (2025).<\/p>\n
The upcoming matchup with a Manitoba-based opponent won\u2019t be anything new for Black.<\/p>\n
Born in Brandon, he was a 6-foot-6, 240-pound high school quarterback for the Neelin Spartans. In Grade 12, he passed for 1,981 yards in seven games \u2014 a Winnipeg High School Football League single-season yardage record in the AA\/AAA ranks. He erupted for 493 yards in one game.<\/p>\n
\u201cIn Brandon, I definitely was the biggest guy,\u201d Black recalled. \u201cMy O-line was smaller, but it was just the way it was and I was happy with it.<\/p>\n
\u201cWe were a smaller school. We only had about 300 kids in our school and I\u2019d say we had about 24 kids on our team, so it was both ways all game, every game.\u201d<\/p>\n
He was also an athlete for every season. At Neelin, he also played basketball, volleyball and, for one season, baseball. He was also a member of the school\u2019s track and field team.<\/p>\n
Rewind even further and Black was a hockey player. He hung up the blades around Grade 6.<\/p>\n
\u201cI\u2019m very happy I grew up playing every sport,\u201d the 6-foot-6, 316-pound Black said. \u201cMy parents gave me the opportunity. I would tell every kid to play as many sports as you can, because it helps you to become a better athlete. There\u2019s still the same fundamentals \u2014 running, jumping and all that.\u201d<\/p>\n
Black\u2019s versatility was also evident when he enrolled at the U of S and joined a Huskies team that is coached by Canadian Football Hall of Fame offensive lineman Scott Flory.<\/p>\n
\u201cI was first going to be recruited as a quarterback and play at the U of S, but I switched to the defensive line coming into camp (as a rookie),\u201d Black said.<\/p>\n
\u201cThen Coach Flory said, \u2018If you really want to play at the next level, you probably should (move to the offensive line).\u2019 When Scott Flory says something about the O-line, you should probably listen. Of course, he was right.<\/p>\n
\u201cIt has just been a crazy journey and I\u2019m very happy with how it turned out.\u201d<\/p>\n
The Roughriders are, in turn, delighted with Black.<\/p>\n
\u201cHe was obviously thought highly of when he came out (of college),\u201d Head Coach Corey Mace said. \u201cHe\u2019s just getting acclimated to the new playbook and our order of operation.<\/p>\n
\u201cHe has all the intangibles. With how freakin\u2019 large of a human being he is, we love that.\u201d<\/p>\n
PADS WERE POPPING<\/p>\n
Tuesday\u2019s session was the first with pads this year at Coors Light Training Camp.<\/p>\n
\u201cIt was a physical practice,\u201d Mace said after the third day of main camp. \u201cThere was good decision-making.<\/p>\n
\u201cUsually after this practice, we\u2019ve got to hit some sprints (as a consequence of penalties), but we didn\u2019t have to do that today. We\u2019ve been harping on the penalties and guys were smart for the most part.\u201d<\/p>\n
Some of the players were smarting as the result of collisions.<\/p>\n
\u201cThere were a lot of thuds and there was a lot of aggressive play, which is the mentality we want to play with,\u201d Mace said. \u201cThe guys understand that. Even the young guys, they figured it out pretty quick.\u201d<\/p>\n
TUESDAY HIGHLIGHTS<\/p>\n
\u2022 Safety Nelson Lokombo had an interception and a pass knockdown in 12-on-12 drills.<\/p>\n
\u2022 Defensive backs Rolan Milligan Jr., Marcus Sayles, Garnett Hollis Jr. and James Burgess Jr. had pass knockdowns in 12-on-12.<\/p>\n
\u2022 Defensive end Chico Bennett Jr. pressured Jordan McCloud and forced the rookie quarterback to scramble instead of attempting a pass.<\/p>\n
\u2022 The most notable offensive plays were completions from Trevor Harris to rookies Jaylen Johnson and Shemar McBean.<\/p>\n
\u2022 Two field goals were attempted. Michael Hughes hit from 44 yards and Jonathan Kim made a 49-yarder.<\/p>\n
\u2022 In one-on-one drills, D\u2019Sean Mimbs and Benjamin Walz made leaping catches. Walz, from the Regina Thunder, is a junior-eligible camp invitee.<\/p>\n
\u2022 In skeleton formation (excluding offensive and defensive linemen), Burgess Jr. had a pass knockdown and safety Jaxon Ford made an interception. For one completion, McCloud threw a dart over the middle to Mathew Sexton. Sexton made a tumbling catch in his first practice as a Roughrider.<\/p>\n
QUOTE OF THE DAY<\/p>\n
Mace was asked on Tuesday why defensive tackle Caleb Sanders has yet to practise during training camp.<\/p>\n
\u201cHe\u2019s just an ugly guy,\u201d the Head Coach responded. \u201cWe didn\u2019t feel like dealing with him.<\/p>\n
\u201cNo \u2026 we love Caleb. Sorry, Caleb.\u201d<\/p>\n
Mace added that Sanders should be practising \u201cin the next day or two.\u201d<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"SASKATOON \u2014 Dayton Black\u2019s dorm adheres to the norm. Ensconced in residence at the University of Saskatchewan during…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":666166,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[437],"tags":[49,48,521,522,520,82],"class_list":["post-666165","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\/666165","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=666165"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/666165\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/666166"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=666165"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=666165"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=666165"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}