\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t
![\"MIKAELA](\"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/05\/4254089_web1_260525-Bombers-00166.JPG\")
\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/a>
\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\tMIKAELA MACKENZIE \/ FREE PRESS
\nDefensive back Ridge Texada is hopeful that he\u2019ll makes a name for himself in Winnipeg.<\/p>\n
Their father, Ranthony Sr., was a receiver at Louisiana Tech.<\/p>\n
\u201cIt\u2019s real cool. It\u2019s kind of a blessing to follow in their footsteps and know they\u2019ve walked these hallways,\u201d Texada told the Free Press after Monday\u2019s training camp session.<\/p>\n
\u201cThey just told me that it\u2019s going to be tough, it\u2019s going to be hard, and that this coaching staff is going to push you to the limit so you can go out there and be at your best during the season.\u201d<\/p>\n
Texada is hopeful that he\u2019ll be the brother that sticks and makes a name for himself in Winnipeg. Considering his performance in Saturday\u2019s 31-27 pre-season loss to the Saskatchewan Roughriders in Saskatoon, he just might.<\/p>\n
The 24-year-old out of North Texas got the start at corner and tipped a Jack Coan pass that ended up in the arms of teammate Evan Holm for a 55-yard pick-six. Late in the third, he forced yet another turnover by ripping away a bobbling ball from Riders receiver Daniel Wiebe for an INT of his own.<\/p>\n
\u201cThey just told me that it\u2019s going to be tough, it\u2019s going to be hard\u2026 go out there and be at your best during the season.\u201d<\/p>\n
The Bombers have a starting cornerback spot for the taking and Texada could very well be the man for the job.<\/p>\n
\u201cThose are big plays and he just keeps on taking in the information and putting it out there in practice and games,\u201d said head coach Mike O\u2019Shea.<\/p>\n
\u201cI\u2019d imagine when you\u2019ve got a household like that, you\u2019re always competing, and it shows.\u201d<\/p>\n
Growing up in a competitive household isn\u2019t all fun and games when you\u2019re the baby bro, though.<\/p>\n
\u201cI remember when I was probably seven or eight years old, I had a hernia and when I came home from surgery, I was using something to help me walk and my brother (Raleigh) came up and pushed me,\u201d said Texada.<\/p>\n
\u201cMy parents got on him for that. It was funny, though.\u201d<\/p>\n
He was pushed literally and figuratively.<\/p>\n
\u201cMy oldest brother is my biggest critic. After a high school game, I had a sprained ankle and I didn\u2019t have the best game,\u201d said Texada, who grew up in Frisco, Texas.<\/p>\n
\u201c\u2026 everywhere I\u2019ve gone, I\u2019ve had to earn my spot. And I don\u2019t see nothing wrong with it. It\u2019s more about proving myself right than about anybody else.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cBut my brother, he pulled me into the garage and he got on me. And I didn\u2019t want to hear any of it, but looking back on it now, it was good that he did that to keep pushing me because I didn\u2019t know what I wanted from myself at that time.\u201d<\/p>\n
Despite coming from an impressive family, Texada has often been overlooked throughout his career because of his 5-foot-9 frame. Before starting 37 games at North Texas in four seasons, he started his NCAA journey at McNeese State.<\/p>\n
\u201cI was underrecruited out of high school, mainly because of my size. I felt like I was one of the best DBs in the country,\u201d he said. \u201cThat\u2019s just kind of been the story of my life, just everywhere I\u2019ve gone, I\u2019ve had to earn my spot. And I don\u2019t see nothing wrong with it. It\u2019s more about proving myself right than about anybody else.\u201d<\/p>\n
Texada earned an invitation to Philadelphia Eagles rookie mini-camp last season before joining the Bombers practice squad late in the year. He was again working with the starting defence on Monday and will have another chance to show what he can do Friday when the Bombers close out the pre-season at home against the B.C. Lions (7:30 p.m. kickoff).<\/p>\n
\u201cI can\u2019t get complacent,\u201d said Texada. \u201cI gotta keep going.\u201d<\/p>\n
\n\t\tWinnipeg Free Press | Newsletter\n\t<\/p>\n
\t\t\t\t\t<\/p>\n
ELGERSMA ON PRE-SEASON SHOWING<\/p>\n
It wasn\u2019t the CFL debut Taylor Elgersma was hoping for.<\/p>\n
The 24-year-old Canadian was under centre for two and a half quarters in Saskatoon and finished with an underwhelming stat line: 6-for-13 for 78 yards and two interceptions. He also ran four times for 18 yards.<\/p>\n
\u201cI felt like I was seeing it well out there, I just feel like I was pressing the gas a little bit hard,\u201d said Elgersma.<\/p>\n
\u201cI wanted to make some big plays, and I think I just got to let the game come to me. That\u2019s part of what we talked about. I don\u2019t gotta press for big plays, they\u2019re going to show up when they show up, and I\u2019ll hit them when they show up, but I don\u2019t gotta go searching for them.\u201d<\/p>\n
winnipegfreepress.com\/taylorallen<\/p>\n
\t\t\t\t<\/p>\n
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
Reporter
\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/a>
\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/a>\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/p>\n