It’s an usual circumstance this week for the Edmonton Eskimos: including Monday’s session, they have four days of practice in the final week of training camp. The Eskimos don’t have a game to prepare for after playing their final pre-season game last Friday in Winnipeg.
It’s still training camp for the green and gold, which means gruelling practice sessions and meetings well into the night before camp breaks on Thursday afternoon.
Quarterback Mike Reilly says there’s still a lot of work to be done.
“It’s kind of weird. It’s like a bye week but it’s not a bye week,” Reilly said. “As veterans, you want to use this week as an extra week of preparation for Winnipeg for the regular season but it’s still technically training camp. We still have late nights of install and things like that but you can feel the emphasis start to shift a little bit.
“Starters are getting a majority of the workload a little bit more than we were even a couple of weeks ago.”
According to head coach Jason Maas, this week serves two purposes: More preparation time for the regular season opener next week in Winnipeg and more time to evaluate his team before having to set their roster.
“The guys who are vying for jobs still are competing and they’re still getting reps,” Maas said.
“It’s still competition. You never know until your very last day what can happen.
“I’ve seen a vast number of things happen in my three years here. Guys have got to fight until the very end. Let us make the decision — don’t you make the decision.”
Eskimos Player Profile
11 Nate Behar receiver 5’11” 204
Born: Sept. 29, 1994 London, ON
School: Carleton
It hasn’t been a long CFL career for Nate Behar so he’s still marking a lot of firsts. Two years in, Sunday and Monday were the first training camp practices that Behar took part in.
After being drafted fifth overall in the first round of the 2017 CFL draft, Behar and his agent did not agree to contract terms with the Eskimos until training camp was over so his first practice came in the regular season.
Year two and again no Behar at training camp — until Sunday. He missed the first two weeks and two pre-season games with an injury sustained at mini camp, but was happy with his first two days on the field.
“It felt great,” the 23-year-old Carleton University grad said.
It’s always frustrating when you’ve got something lingering and holding you back and not letting you get out there with the guys and not being able to pick up where we left off at mini camp.”
That mini camp was over a month ago in late April in Las Vegas. All reports back say that Behar had a very solid camp but the injury he sustained kept him off the field until this weekend and that was frustrating.
“It’s tough. I put so much work in in the off season to make sure I was ready for mini camp and training camp and then to have that slow you down, now I feel that I have some rust to knock off.
“I would have loved to hit the ground running but we have a long season ahead of us.”
As he begins his second season in the CFL, the goal for Behar is be more involved.
“I’m going to do what ever I can to help the team. I feel like I put in the work in the off season and I feel if given the opportunity, I can make some things happen. I am fully confident in myself and my abilities. We have a great receiving corps and a great offence and to be able to contribute in any way would be pretty awesome.”
Behar played 12 games last year but only got a few snaps on offence while spending most of his time on special teams, recording four special teams tackles.
Audibles
Listen Below: Receiver Nate Behar talks about participating in his first training camp session on Monday
Roster notes
The Eskimos made one roster move on Monday, releasing quarterback Eli Jenkins who passed for just nine yards in limited work in two pre-season games.
Defensive back Johnny Adams and running back Alex Taylor left practice early.
Receiver Torrance Gibson joined the group of injured players. He appeared to hurt his right hamstring in the loss to the Bombers last Friday.
Receivers Bryant Mitchell and Juron Criner, along with offensive linemen Matt O’Donnell and J.S. Roy, defensive backs Mercy Maston and Brandyn Thompson, along with long-snapper Ryan King all remain out of practice.
The Eskimos will have two sessions Tuesday on The Brick Field at Commonwealth Stadium at 9:20 a.m. and 11:25 a.m.
— With files from Morley Scott
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