AVAILABLE HERE<\/a>.)<\/p>\n\u201cThis means the world,\u201d Evans said on Friday. \u201cI love playing football. When I wasn\u2019t playing football, I was thinking about playing football, so this opportunity to play football again is a dream come true.\u201d<\/p>\n
Since Nov. 30, 2024, Evans has played in five pre-season games \u2014 three last year with the NFL\u2019s Tennessee Titans and two in recent weeks with Saskatchewan. He signed a CFL contract on Jan. 19, signalling an end to the Roughriders\u2019 relentless recruiting process.<\/p>\n
\u201cNon-stop calls, pretty much every day,\u201d Evans, 23, said with a laugh. \u201cThere was a lot going on when I was away from football, but I just came back to it. I\u2019m still young, so I gave it another chance.\u201d<\/p>\n
During the hiatus, the 6-foot-6, 255-pound product of Sanford, N.C. was residing in Atlanta and working closely with assorted Fortune 500 companies. A sweet gig, one would presume.<\/p>\n
\u201cYou could say that, but it\u2019s work at the end of the day,\u201d Evans said. \u201cIt\u2019s all the same. Being able to come out here and play football with people who you like, it\u2019s different.<\/p>\n
\u201cI learned a lot from working there, but it\u2019s pretty much the same thing here. You get paid off of performance. You get paid for getting tackles and getting sacks.\u201d<\/p>\n
Mace looks forward to plenty of both from the towering lineman.<\/p>\n
\u201cHe\u2019s a disrupter,\u201d the third-year Roughriders field boss said. \u201cHe\u2019s a tall, long guy. He plays behind his pads. He\u2019s powerful. He\u2019s got enough wiggle to him to win with a finesse rush. He condenses gaps in a hurry in the run game. It\u2019s a different tool that has never really been in this defence before.<\/p>\n
\u201cHe has been doing a pretty danged good job and he had a good pre-season. He should have had a great pre-season, but he missed about three sacks. We\u2019ve got to get that out of him.<\/p>\n
\u201cHopefully he\u2019ll have a few opportunities coming up as he gets his career started up here.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cIT\u2019S TIME TO GO\u201d<\/p>\n
Saskatchewan and B.C. will both open their regular-season schedules with the sixth game of the 2026 CFL campaign.<\/p>\n
The Roughriders and Lions had Week 1 byes.<\/p>\n
By the time Saturday\u2019s game kicks off at Mosaic Stadium, three teams \u2014 the Hamilton Tiger-Cats, Montreal Alouettes and Winnipeg Blue Bombers \u2014 will have played twice.<\/p>\n
The wait has been especially long for Saskatchewan, which has not played a game of any description since its 31-27 pre-season victory over Winnipeg on May 23 in Saskatoon.<\/p>\n
\u201cTonight will be maybe a little bit different sleep going into it, with how your brain\u2019s operating, than at any other time in 2026,\u201d Mace said.<\/p>\n
\u201cIt\u2019s just that time of year. It\u2019s so exciting for everybody \u2014 coaches, players, everybody in the building.<\/p>\n
\u201cIt\u2019s time to go.\u201d<\/p>\n
ONE YEAR LATER<\/p>\n
Payton Collins was a rookie, right out of college at Eastern Kentucky, when he lined up at left tackle for Saskatchewan in the 2025 regular-season opener.<\/p>\n
Now he is a veteran, albeit one who is just 25 years of age, and the proud owner of a Grey Cup ring. What a difference a year makes \u2026<\/p>\n
\u201cLast year, there were a lot of emotions, for sure, with it being my first professional football game and being a rookie,\u201d Collins, who was named the Roughriders\u2019 Most Outstanding Rookie last season, reflected on Friday. \u201cI knew what the stadium looked like, but there hadn\u2019t been that many fans in it.<\/p>\n
\u201cThis year, I\u2019m just so excited, because I know what to expect from this community and these fans. I just can\u2019t wait to see all these people at Mosaic Stadium, being loud.<\/p>\n
\u201cI can\u2019t wait for the atmosphere. That\u2019s what I\u2019m most excited about.\u201d<\/p>\n
Saskatchewan quickly felt like home for Collins, whose signing was announced only five days before the team began its 2025 rookie camp in Saskatoon.<\/p>\n
\u201cI just feel so lucky for them to believe in me and keep me on the roster last year,\u201d he said. \u201cI just feel so blessed to be a part of this organization and this team.<\/p>\n
\u201cTo be able to do what we did in my first year was pretty unbelievable. We\u2019re hoping to keep building off that.\u201d<\/p>\n
WELCOME TO RIDERVILLE<\/p>\n
Evans and seven other Roughriders players will make their CFL debuts on Saturday.<\/p>\n
The others are offensive lineman Erik Andersen, defensive back Malcolm Bell, punter Oscar Chapman, linebacker David Gbenda, kicker Alex Hale, defensive lineman Liam Hoskins and receiver Jaylen Johnson.<\/p>\n
Five players with prior CFL experience will suit up for Saskatchewan for the first time: Defensive linemen James Vaughters and Devin Adams, long snapper Aaron Crawford, receiver\/returner James Letcher Jr., and linebacker Josh Woods.<\/p>\n
The 13 new additions increase the Roughriders\u2019 all-time total to 2,160 active-roster players.<\/p>\n
NUMBERS AND NAMES<\/p>\n
\u2022 Alex Hale will soon become the Roughriders\u2019 first No. 11 to attempt a field goal or a convert since Eddie Johnson, who last suited up for the Green and White on Aug. 5, 2011 in B.C. Johnson was the Roughriders\u2019 punter\/placekicker for six games that season. Before Johnson, a player wearing No. 11 had not registered a point on a placement kick since John Steele recorded nine converts in 1971.<\/p>\n
\u2022 Oscar Chapman is about to become the first No. 91 to punt for the Roughriders since Ferd Burket, who averaged 36.9 yards on seven boots in Winnipeg on Oct. 26, 1959. Also on that day, Burket ran for four touchdowns and caught a TD pass. The five majors are an enduring Roughriders single-game record.<\/p>\n
\u2022 Chapman is also poised to become the first Oscar to play in a regular-season game with Saskatchewan. Oscar Gibson, a linebacker, tried out for the team in 1973.<\/p>\n
\u2022 Vaughters will soon become the first Roughriders defensive lineman to wear No. 9 in a regular-season game. Only three linemen, period, have donned No. 9 for Saskatchewan \u2014 Vaughters, centre\/guard Doug Drew (1947-48) and guard Tom Palyga (1949).<\/p>\n
TACKLE HUNGER<\/p>\n
Saturday\u2019s season opener doubles as the Roughriders\u2019 annual Purolator Tackle Hunger game.<\/p>\n
Fans entering Mosaic Stadium are encouraged to donate a non-perishable food item or make a monetary contribution. An online donation can also be made by CLICKING HERE<\/a>.<\/p>\n\u00a0<\/p>\n
\u00a0<\/p>\n
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