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JOHN WOODS \/ FREE PRESS<\/p>\n
Winnipeg Blue Bombers quarterback Zach Collaros (right) said he had only been around for one practice and had only taken one rep before then Toronto Argonauts head coach Scott Milanovich threw him in to play his first pre-season game.<\/p>\n
\u201cIt\u2019s amazing these kids get all these reps now,\u201d said the Blue Bombers quarterback with a grin earlier this week.<\/p>\n
\u201cAnd I think I threw a touchdown and ran for a touchdown. I had such low expectations of anything. I was like, \u2018The worst thing that could happen is I get to go home.\u2019\u201d<\/p>\n
The Bombers will play their pre-season opener on Saturday in Saskatoon against the Saskatchewan Roughriders (6 p.m.).<\/p>\n
While football at this time of year has no bearing on the standings and can often be a drag to watch, it can also be a culmination of a lifelong dream coming true \u2014 especially for up-and-coming Canadians.<\/p>\n
\u201cI think back on that time fondly and it was a huge deal,\u201d said veteran guard Patrick Neufeld, a Regina native who started his CFL journey in 2010 with his hometown Riders.<\/p>\n
In Neufeld\u2019s case, he was a bit too excited for the moment.<\/p>\n
\u201cYeah, my first play I got an unnecessary roughness (penalty). My very first play,\u201d Neufeld said.<\/p>\n
\u201cI was just fired up to play my first professional game in the building I grew up going to games, and I just had a little too much fire and hit the guy late. It was kind of just laughed off, but obviously, I was told on the sideline, \u2018You can\u2019t do that kind of thing.\u2019\u201d<\/p>\n
That first outing as a pro can also be a harsh reminder that there\u2019s still a lot of work to be done \u2014 just ask kicker Sergio Castillo.<\/p>\n
Before taking his talents up north, Castillo was signed by the Atlanta Falcons as an undrafted free agent in 2014. The Falcons happened to already have one of the best kickers in the NFL at that time: Matt Bryant.<\/p>\n
\u201cMatt Bryant was one of my favourite kickers. And we were walking through the tunnel to enter the stadium \u2014 we were playing in Atlanta at the old stadium against the Dolphins \u2014 and Matt Bryant was a couple feet ahead of me. He goes in, then security stops me and is like, \u2018Hey, this is only for players.\u2019 And I had my badge and everything. And Matt Bryant was like, \u2018He\u2019s a player, let him in,\u2019\u201d recalled Castillo.<\/p>\n
Castillo quickly shrugged off the encounter and drilled both of his field goal attempts \u2014 although, it didn\u2019t end up making a difference.<\/p>\n
\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t JOHN WOODS \/ FREE PRESS<\/p>\n Winnipeg Blue Bombers defensive end Willie Jefferson said he came close to sacking Drew Brees during his first pre-season contest.<\/p>\n \u201cI got cut the next day,\u201d laughed Castillo. \u201cAnd I was so excited because we were playing Houston the following week and I\u2019m from Texas and the whole family was gonna go, but a linebacker got hurt, they needed someone to come and replace him, and I was the odd man out.<\/p>\n \u201cThat\u2019s when I got introduced to the business side of things.\u201d<\/p>\n Defensive end Willie Jefferson got to experience the NFL in Houston as he was picked up by the Texans in 2013 out of Stephen F. Austin. In that first pre-season game, he came oh-so-close to taking down a member of the Pro Football Hall of Fame Class of 2026.<\/p>\n \u201cI almost had a sack on Drew Brees. I was with the starters, so I had a chance to go against the starters on the Saints,\u201d said Jefferson. \u201cOn a pass rush, I was able to beat the offensive tackle around the edge, and I tried to knock the ball out of Drew Brees\u2019s hand, but he (tucked the ball in).\u201d<\/p>\n Similar to Neufeld, running back Brady Oliveira had the pleasure of making his pre-season debut in his own backyard. Long before he was the face of the franchise, he was an intriguing prospect out of the University of North Dakota who was trying to reacclimate to the Canadian game.<\/p>\n \u201cI remember running through the tunnel and looking around going, \u2018Wow, this is a pre-season game, there\u2019s quite a few fans here, and what a special opportunity that I have right now,\u2019\u201d said Oliveira, who helped the Bombers beat Edmonton 20-3 in front of nearly 20,000 spectators.<\/p>\n \u201cAnd then, it was starting to see, \u2018OK, am I actually built for this? Like, can I actually do this?\u2019 And I got some reps at running back, and I think that game, my longest rush was 15 yards, so it was pretty good.\u201d<\/p>\n Regardless of what happens on Saturday, Collaros, Neufeld, Castillo, Jefferson and Oliveira can all sleep just fine and know they\u2019re going to be on the roster in Week 1. For the youngsters, and those on the bubble, a few snaps could ultimately decide whether they\u2019ll be kept or if they need to start looking for a 9-5.<\/p>\n \u201cThe game is never going to be perfect. You just got to stack the positives and hope they outweigh the negatives,\u201d said Jefferson. \u201cJust be where you\u2019re supposed to be, overcommunicate to show the coaches and the people watching film you know what you\u2019re doing and you\u2019re passionate about what you\u2019re doing, and then, hopefully, you make the team.<\/p>\n \u201cAnd if not, hopefully another team sees you and wants you and you go somewhere else.\u201d<\/p>\n Thorne bows out of QB battle<\/p>\n There will be one less quarterback to evaluate on Saturday.<\/p>\n \t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t MIKE DEAL \/ FREE PRESS FILES<\/p>\n Quarterback Payton Thorne (4) informed Winnipeg Blue Bombers head coach Mike O\u2019Shea on Thursday that he will be leaving the team.<\/p>\n Rookie quarterback Payton Thorne sat down with head coach Mike O\u2019Shea on Thursday to inform him he\u2019s leaving the team.<\/p>\n Thorne, a passer out of Michigan State\/Auburn who spent some time with the Cincinnati Bengals last year, was currently battling it out with Taylor Elgersma, Terry Wilson and Bryce Perkins for the No. 2- and 3 jobs behind Collaros.<\/p>\n The club has transferred him to the suspended list.<\/p>\n \n\t\tWinnipeg Free Press | Newsletter\n\t<\/p>\n \t\t\t\t\t \u201cHe\u2019s not afraid of competition or anything like that. It\u2019s hard to tell (where he ranked in the competition). We were going to play everybody and see where it all shakes out,\u201d said O\u2019Shea on Thursday.<\/p>\n \u201cYou\u2019re disappointed because you want to run an organization where nobody ever leaves. They all want to stay all the time. But I also am genuinely excited if somebody has things figured out enough that this is the decision they make, because it\u2019s not an easy decision.\u201d<\/p>\n Thorne attended Wednesday\u2019s training camp session but did not participate in any drills.<\/p>\n \u201cHe\u2019s a great kid,\u201d said O\u2019Shea. \u201cHe\u2019s really smart and I\u2019m sure he\u2019s got a future in football still. This is what he had to do.\u201d<\/p>\n winnipegfreepress.com\/taylorallen<\/p>\n \t\t\t\t Taylor Allen Taylor Allen is a sports reporter for the Winnipeg Free Press. Taylor was the Vince Leah intern in the Free Press newsroom twice while earning his joint communications degree\/diploma at the University of Winnipeg and Red River College Polytechnic. He signed on full-time in 2019 and mainly covers the Blue Bombers, curling, and basketball. Read more about Taylor<\/a>.<\/p>\n Every piece of reporting Taylor produces is reviewed by an editing team before it is posted online or published in print \u2014 part of the Free Press\u2018s tradition, since 1872, of producing reliable independent journalism. Read more about Free Press\u2019s history and mandate<\/a>, and learn how our newsroom operates<\/a>.<\/p>\n
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