Eighty-six players were on hand as the Edmonton Eskimos began training camp on The Brick Field at Commonwealth Stadium on Sunday.
Players will have two weeks to earn the right to play in pre-season games that will go June 11 at home against Calgary and June 15 in Winnipeg.
Eskimos general manager Brock Sunderland says getting from the 86 on hand now to the 46 that will start the season on June 24 in Vancouver might not be as tough as it looks.
“You kind of know who your key guys are going to be. You’re not looking at the entire 86 that we have now. We have a pretty good idea who the incumbents are and who is going to be there, but there are certain areas that we are looking at a little closer,” said Sunderland who with the help of head coach Jason Maas will whittle the roster down.
“It’s more tunnel vision view than panoramic than people would think.”
As Day 1 wrapped up, Maas said he liked what he saw.
“Competition is the biggest thing, and guys came out here and were flying around,” said the second-year head coach. “The speed of what we do is what I was looking for, and competition is what I was looking for, and how they treat each other is part of it, and I thought we accomplished all three of those things.”
It’s year two for the Eskimos offence with the Maas system in place, and quarterback Mike Reilly says things were smoother on Day 1 this year compared to last year. “For Day 1 with the veterans , they did a really nice job — I thought mentally, they were tuned in. I wanted to see our veterans come in and pick up where we left off, and I think today was a step in the right direction. We’ve got a long way to go through camp and there is a lot of changes but for Day 1, I thought it was very successful.”
Day 2 is Monday at 9:20 a.m. at Commonwealth Stadium.
Draft pick update
First-round draft pick receiver Nate Behar was not in attendance. The Carleton Ravens grad, selected fifth overall by the Eskimos has still not come to terms on a contract.
The two sides have been talking and Eskimos GM Sunderland says they have made more than one offer. “We’ve made him multiple offers above market value. I love Nate as a person and I love him as football player, and I hope at some point, he wants to come join us — he is always welcome.”
Defensive back Arjen Colquhoun, selected in the second round in the 2016 draft came to terms on a contract on Saturday and after taking his medical, joined the team on the field for practice number 1 listed on the depth chart at safety.
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