Every CFL team needs players willing to do the difficult work. The players who sprint downfield on kick coverage. The ones who create the field position. The ones who earn trust before their names show up on the stat sheet.<\/p>\n
For Saskatchewan Roughriders rookie linebacker David Gbenda, that role has become his first opportunity in the CFL. After signing with the Roughriders in March, the former Texas Longhorn earned a roster spot out of training camp and has quickly become a contributor on special teams, an area where head coach Corey Mace believes the rookie is beginning to establish himself.<\/p>\n
Gbenda is coming off his most productive game of the season as he four tackles, two on defence and two on special teams, in a convincing win over Hamilton. He\u2019s\u00a0up to five tackles on special teams on the season.<\/p>\n
\u201cHe\u2019s growing into a role very similar to Aubrey (Miller Jr.), trying to solidify himself as a junkyard dog,\u201d Mace said. \u201cHe\u2019s got all the intangibles to do so, just more and more reps. We\u2019ll see how that goes, but he\u2019s been awesome.\u201d<\/p>\n
For a player entering his first professional season in Canada after spending time with the Tennessee Titans organization as an undrafted free agent in 2025, the adjustment has been significant for Gbenda, but welcomed.<\/p>\n
\u201cThe experience has been nothing but a new experience, but it\u2019s been fun,\u201d Gbenda told SportsCage. \u201cI\u2019m excited to play football again. I\u2019m grateful for this opportunity.\u201d<\/p>\n
The linebacker arrived in Saskatchewan expecting to join a competitive organization and says the reality has matched his expectations before signing.<\/p>\n
\u201cI personally thought I was getting into a winning organization and a winning team for what I\u2019ve heard and what I saw,\u201d Gbenda said. \u201cSo everything I saw is what I\u2019m experiencing right now.\u201d<\/p>\n
That transition has involved not only adapting to a new team. The CFL game comes with an extra player, wider field dimensions and different responsibilities, especially for linebackers and special teams players. Gbenda said the learning curve was manageable thanks to veteran teammates.<\/p>\n
\u201cIt was just different with 12 people as opposed to 11, but I picked up the rules pretty fast,\u201d Gbenda said. \u201cI had a great group of vets kind of help me and teach me up on the rules, so it wasn\u2019t that hard.\u201d<\/p>\n
One adjustment stands out immediately.<\/p>\n
\u201cThe field is a lot bigger,\u201d Gbenda said with a smile. \u201cBut it makes it much more fun.\u201d<\/p>\n
That mentality fits what Mace wants from his core special teams players.<\/p>\n
Asked whether describing special teams as controlled chaos was fair, Mace embraced the idea.<\/p>\n
\u201cI think you have to, you heard it for years now, it\u2019s kind of the proving ground before you get on offence or defence,\u201d Mace said. \u201cBut you’ve got to be a little nuts to be a special-teamer and be a core-teamer. If you are nuts, it\u2019s a good thing.\u201d<\/p>\n
Gbenda appears comfortable with that identity. When told Mace believes he\u2019s becoming someone the team can rely on for consistency in the kicking game, the rookie didn\u2019t overcomplicate his approach.<\/p>\n
\u201cI just feel thankful for the opportunity and just the role that they\u2019ve placed upon me,\u201d Gbenda said. \u201cI\u2019m just ready to do my job and make sure I do it to the best of my ability.\u201d<\/p>\n
And his definition of that job is simple.<\/p>\n
\u201cMy job is just to make plays.\u201d<\/p>\n
While the linebacker\u2019s opportunities have come primarily on special teams, his goals extend beyond individual production.<\/p>\n
\u201cI\u2019d say my personal goal is just to make sure I can help lead the team in any way I can, whether it\u2019s tackles, turnovers or anything like that,\u201d Gbenda said. \u201cBut honestly, where I\u2019m at right now in terms of helping produce for the team and helping us win, that\u2019s my ultimate goal.\u201d<\/p>\n
As Saskatchewan continues its season, players like Gbenda may not receive the same attention as offensive stars or defensive playmakers. But inside the locker room, those roles matter. And if the rookie continues earning trust the way he has through the opening weeks, his impact could grow beyond special teams.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"Every CFL team needs players willing to do the difficult work. The players who sprint downfield on kick…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":804215,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[437],"tags":[3878,49,48,521,522,520,3290,4398,27684,27683,1893,4401,27682,4400,4399,82],"class_list":["post-804214","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","category-cfl","tag-agriculture","tag-ca","tag-canada","tag-canadian-football-league","tag-canadianfootballleague","tag-cfl","tag-contests","tag-country-music","tag-gx94","tag-manitoba-news","tag-radio","tag-rider-radio","tag-saskatchewan-news","tag-saskatchewan-roughriders","tag-saskatchewan-sports","tag-sports"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/804214","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=804214"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/804214\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/804215"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=804214"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=804214"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=804214"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}