{"id":684764,"date":"2026-05-21T19:25:11","date_gmt":"2026-05-21T19:25:11","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/684764\/"},"modified":"2026-05-21T19:25:11","modified_gmt":"2026-05-21T19:25:11","slug":"star-defensive-back-tevaughn-campbell-returns-to-riders-camp-after-personal-matter","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/684764\/","title":{"rendered":"Star defensive back Tevaughn Campbell returns to Riders\u2019 camp after \u2018personal matter\u2019"},"content":{"rendered":"<p>\u201cJust been busy mostly,\u201d Campbell said. \u201cI handled it, came back ready to compete and ready to get back to it.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>\t<img decoding=\"async\" src=\"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/04\/indicator-big.gif\" alt=\"\"\/><\/p>\n<p>Campbell, 32, is coming off the best season of his professional career, which saw him tied for first place in the CFL with six interceptions in 13 games. He was a key part of Saskatchewan\u2019s win in the 112th Grey Cup in November, with a forced fumble late in the fourth quarter.<\/p>\n<p>Mace said Campbell\u2019s impact was immediately noticeable, joking with media after practice about what he saw from the veteran defensive back\u2019s first day of camp.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cHe\u2019s out there like a rookie,\u201d Mace joked.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cIt\u2019s great to have him back, obviously. The guys are happy to see him. He\u2019s happy to see everybody as well. Yeah, it\u2019s Tevaughn Campbell.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>Named to the 2025 All-CFL team following his breakthrough season, Campbell is expected to anchor a veteran group in 2026 alongside other returning players like Rolan Milligan Jr., DaMarcus Fields, Marcus Sayles and Nelson Lokombo.<\/p>\n<p>Campbell said he was impressed by the group of newcomers to the Roughriders\u2019 organization who are fighting for jobs in the team\u2019s secondary.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cA lot of experienced guys, a lot of young guys, too,\u201d Campbell said. \u201cA lot of dogs, athletes, and it\u2019s exciting, man, just to be around the young boys. Trying to get some energy from them and fly around.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>Campbell said a big part of the team\u2019s success last year came from the trust the Roughriders\u2019 defensive backs have in each other, as well as the autonomy the coaching staff has given to the group.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cWe freestyle and we make things happen,\u201d Campbell said. \u201cAs long as the guy beside you knows what\u2019s happening, and that goes across the whole field, then you\u2019re good.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>The former University of Regina Rams star made some of the team\u2019s most indelible plays of the 2025 season, but that\u2019s not what stands out in Campbell\u2019s mind entering a new year. Instead, he said it\u2019s the plays that he failed to convert on which he said \u201chaunt\u201d him each day.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cThere\u2019s just so many deep-ball plays that I feel like I should have had,\u201d Campbell said.<\/p>\n<p>\u201c(Plays) I maybe got my hand on, but I didn\u2019t pick it. I watch it back and I\u2019ll be like, \u2018Man, I should have went with two hands instead of one.\u2019\u201d<\/p>\n<p>Campbell said he\u2019s pushing himself to get a little bit better each time he takes the field ahead of what he hopes will be an even more dominant season for the Riders.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cI\u2019m just such a competitor, and I wouldn\u2019t say a perfectionist, but I chase greatness,\u201d Campbell said. \u201cI want to be as close to greatness as possible, so I\u2019m just not content with being mediocre.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>Training camp notes<\/p>\n<p>The Roughriders returned to Saskatoon after a 20-15 loss to the Calgary Stampeders in their pre-season opener on Monday.<\/p>\n<p>Quarterback Brayden Schager was 10-for-18 on his throws in the second half on Monday, with 139 yards passing and a rushing touchdown to his credit in the loss.<\/p>\n<p>Schager said that while he showed what he can do in his first game action in over a year, there was plenty he wants to clean up in his game moving forward.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cThere\u2019s always things you look on film and you want back,\u201d Schager said.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cI\u2019m happy with some of the stuff I was able to put on tape, but I think there\u2019s always room for improvement.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>With the return of Campbell to the field at the national defensive back spot, the Roughriders adjusted their starters at several positions to factor in the Canadian ratio.<\/p>\n<p>Wide receiver Jaylen Johnson ran with the starters on offence for the first time, in the place of former University of Saskatchewan Huskie Daniel Wiebe.<\/p>\n<p>Mace said Johnson\u2019s promotion to starting receiver was based in part on how well-rounded his game has looked at camp.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cHe\u2019s been doing amazing things,\u201d Mace said. \u201cThe intangibles we look for in receivers, he does all the things that you love as an actual receiver. When it comes to blocking (and) his special teams play, he had a hell of a game playing special teams.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>A change also came on the defensive line on Wednesday, with Jaylen Pate sliding into the starting defensive end position, which was previously held by Desmond Evans.<\/p>\n<p>Pate participated in most drills, alongside CFL veterans Mike Rose, James Vaughters and Devin Adams, while Caleb Sanders has not yet made his on-field debut at camp.<\/p>\n<p>Offensive linemen Zack Fry and Daniel Johnson, meanwhile, did not take part in Wednesday\u2019s practice, though Mace said the pair should be \u201cgood to go\u201d for the weekend after getting more clarity on their health.<\/p>\n<p>Wednesday\u2019s practice was also the first day of training camp to be officiated by CFL referees, which Mace said reinforced the details of the game.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cIt\u2019s just building the calluses up a little bit for mental toughness, physical toughness and accountability with the refs here,\u201d Mace said.<\/p>\n<p>The Roughriders now turn their focus to the pre-season game on Saturday at Griffiths Stadium in Saskatoon against the Winnipeg Blue Bombers. Kickoff is set for 5 p.m.<\/p>\n<p>\u2014<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"\u201cJust been busy mostly,\u201d Campbell said. \u201cI handled it, came back ready to compete and ready to get&hellip;\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":684765,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[437],"tags":[49,48,521,522,520,82],"class_list":["post-684764","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\/684764","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=684764"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/684764\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/684765"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=684764"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=684764"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=684764"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}