With Saskatchewan Roughriders training camp now complete, one of the biggest behind-the-scenes storylines was the amount of work handled by special teams coordinator Kent Maugeri.<\/p>\n
With Saskatchewan Roughriders training camp now complete, one of the biggest behind-the-scenes storylines was the amount of work handled by special teams coordinator Kent Maugeri.<\/p>\n
While most of the focus during camp centred on roster battles at quarterback and along the offensive and defensive lines, Maugeri quietly oversaw evaluations at three specialized positions: long snapper, punter and kicker. Along the way, he also had to help new players adjust to the Canadian game and the unique challenges presented by Mosaic Stadium.<\/p>\n
\u201cIt\u2019s been a challenge for sure,\u201d Maugeri said during camp. \u201cIt\u2019s the football gods saying all three at once. Just showing them where the weight room is and the building and all that stuff, let alone we chart every snap, every kick, every punt.\u201d<\/p>\n
Now that camp has wrapped up and decisions have been made, Maugeri and the Roughriders hope the work completed over the last several weeks will help maintain the standard Saskatchewan\u2019s special teams unit has established in recent seasons.<\/p>\n
Under Maugeri, the Roughriders have developed into one of the CFL\u2019s premier special teams groups. In 2025, Saskatchewan became the only team in the league not to allow a return touchdown while winning the Grey Cup. Recently-departed kicker Brett Lauther posted a 201-point season in 2024 while then-returner\u00a0Mario Alford remained one of the CFL\u2019s most dangerous returners.<\/p>\n
But replacing veteran long snapper Jorgen Hus, who retired earlier this year, represented one of the most difficult tasks of camp.<\/p>\n
\u201cYeah, it\u2019s tough,\u201d Maugeri admitted. \u201cHe set the high standard, and to snap for 10 years or whatever it is and no bad snaps, he\u2019s just elite. It\u2019s been a high bar. It\u2019s not really attainable right now, but we\u2019re going to chase it every day.\u201d<\/p>\n
Maugeri explained that evaluating long snappers goes far beyond simply delivering the football to the holder.<\/p>\n
\u201cFor field goals, placement is key,\u201d he said. \u201cLocation, velocity and laces. These guys are so good now that the holders just have to catch it in the same spot and hopefully have laces.\u201d<\/p>\n
The details can become incredibly precise.<\/p>\n
\u201cIf it\u2019s a quarter turn off or a 16th off, we tell them. These guys adjust how they grip the ball, how they throw it back, and their follow-through. If it\u2019s raining, cold, or snowing, they adjust their grip. It truly is an art form.\u201d<\/p>\n
The evaluation process extended to punters and kickers as well, especially with windy conditions consistently impacting practices at Mosaic Stadium throughout the final week of camp.<\/p>\n
\u201cYou have to have a good feel,\u201d Maugeri said of evaluating punters. \u201cCan you sense the rush? Is it held up by the return team? How do we play the wind? What kind of drop do I need because of the wind?\u201d<\/p>\n
Maugeri added that punters must also be capable of executing several different styles of kicks depending on field position and game situation.<\/p>\n
\u201cWhen we\u2019re backed up, open field or going-in punts, you\u2019ve got to have multiple shots in the bag. These guys do. It\u2019s been really fun working with them.\u201d<\/p>\n
For kickers, learning how to manage Saskatchewan wind patterns became one of the most important lessons of camp.<\/p>\n
\u201cThese guys are just trying to find, alright, it\u2019s left-to-right today. What am I looking at? What am I aiming at?\u201d Maugeri explained. \u201cMaybe it\u2019s 30 yards going this way and maybe 50 yards going the other way because it was ripping today.\u201d<\/p>\n
So how does he coach kicking in the wind?<\/p>\n
\u201cReps,\u201d Maugeri said with a laugh. \u201cThere are certain times when you may want to drive it so it doesn\u2019t move on you. Other times, you can hit your best ball and let the wind help you a little bit.\u201d<\/p>\n
Maugeri also noted that even the CFL football itself creates an adjustment period for American specialists entering the Canadian game.<\/p>\n
\u201cIt\u2019s a different size ball, so everything is different,\u201d he said. \u201cYou get some of these U.S. punters who come up, and normally they turn it over, and maybe it\u2019s a 4.7 hang time. Up here, sometimes that thing drops straight down.\u201d<\/p>\n
With training camp complete and the preseason now behind them, the Roughriders hope the extensive evaluations and adjustments made throughout camp will translate into another strong season for one of the CFL\u2019s top special teams units.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"With Saskatchewan Roughriders training camp now complete, one of the biggest behind-the-scenes storylines was the amount of work…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":719306,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[437],"tags":[49,48,521,522,520,260190,82],"class_list":["post-719305","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-saskatchewan-roughriderskent-maugeri","tag-sports"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/719305","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=719305"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/719305\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/719306"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=719305"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=719305"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=719305"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}